Parenting and Ethics

Posted by Barb Hacker Jun 13, 2008

Having just discovered a month or so ago that "parenting and ethics" is one of the sub-topics of the Parenting Methods category, I've been mulling over how to approach it. I'm not really sure what direction to take it in.

On the one hand, I could discuss a parent's moral obligation to teach basic values to their children. Honesty, responsibility, sportsmanship and things of that nature come to mind.

On the other hand, this could be the perfect area to delve into some more controversial topics. Nobody would dispute the need to teach honesty to children, but many would dispute the need for sleep training, such as the often recommended cry-it-out method. Some would even go so far to say that sleep training methods are morally or ethically wrong.

The list of these parenting hot topics is long. Just visit any parenting message board and you will find many flame wars over things like cry-it-out, circumcision, spanking, formula feeding and even cloth diapering.

I guess the only way to handle this topic is to jump in with both feet.