Rhetoric and Parenting

As a parent, I encounter rhetoric in various forms.  First being those who are "experts" about rearing children, some who are not even parents and many who are closely related, like family and friends.  These persuasions and thoughts must be weeded through to discern what is valuable and applicable to my parenting circumstances.  Take meal-time, for example, there are those that believe that you should "force-feed" your child certain food groups or varieties making meal-time such "fun" and enjoyment for all involved.  While others believe that you serve your child the same food at each consecutive meal until it no longer holds any resemblance to the original food that was served, because they had no desire to eat it at the original served time.  Yet others believe that you serve the child whatever their desires are because atleast "something" is better than nothing, even if the "something" is a cocktail of high fructose corn syrup and artificial food colorings. 

However, I believe that each child must be observed and handled according to their own specific learning style.  For my children, we observed that they learned best through example.  Therefore, we not only serve them the foods that we believe are healthy and nourishing for them, but we as the parents also eat the same foods.   In other words, we live by example.  We talk regularly about "good food" and healthy bodies.

We also experience rhetoric in many other parenting situations, most importantly regarding morals and values.  In this area, we not only receive persuasions and opinions from the same groups listed above, but also receive it from external sources like media, government and entertainment industries.  It is my responsibility to filter those opinions very carefully.  Unlike the original sources, the later do not have any personal involvement with my children directly, so there's no understanding about my family dynamics or how each child responds or is influenced. 

I know that this subject may be deep and something many of you may not be able to relate to at this present time, but may certainly experience it at some time in the near future.  This is just thoughts on my personal experiences...