The Theory I Chose

I raised my child as a single parent and often people ask me how I did it.When I was getting my bachelor in early childhood education administration one of the classes I took had us study the different theories of child development. We studied  Piaget, B. F Skinner, Urie Bronfenbrenner and others. It was while I was taking this class I realized the theory I was using to raise my daughter was The Maslow approach. The Maslow approach is a humanistic approach that has a hierarchy of needs. The hierarchy of needs are: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization.

I felt the Maslow approach helps a parent understand that until the basic needs of a child are met it can be difficult to help a child. In my point of view the Maslow approach take care of the whole child not just the physiological or psychological needs and it doesn't just reinforce behavior that parents want. My position is the Maslow approach helps a child become their own individual and help parents help children become a whole unique self.

Of course there are times when raising a child that other theories need to be used because other people's theories help a parent raise a child too and different theories help at different stages of development as the child grows and parents shouldn't be afraid to change the approach they use if one isn't working. However, the Maslow approach is the one I used most often when I raised my child.

Everyone is different though and each parent should find the theory that works for them, their children and their family. Knowing what theory you want to use to raise your children though helps as a guide as parents raise their children.