While many facets of parenting are seemingly universal—wanting to help a baby grow up into a healthy, happy adult—we have developed myriad ways to approach each aspect of ensuring a child’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, from how a baby should be held to how to instill a sense of responsibility in a teenager. These different approaches are frequently products of differing cultural attitudes about what “right behavior” looks like—or even what a healthy, happy adult looks like! Thoughtfully and compassionately exploring these differing ways of thinking about parenting can shed light on both the problematic and wise aspects of how we approach raising the children in our care.
