Description

Introduction Parents provide children with the framework from which they can begin to develop and cultivate their own value system. This framework is developed by socialization, observation and interactions that children have with their parents. Modelling is a powerful, indirect tool through which children learn the most without parents realizing what they are teaching their children. Hence, it is very important for parents to be conscious of their behaviour as they will unknowingly be imitated by their children. The process of the transmission of the values and habits from parents to children begins at a young age and can have lasting effects on the future of individuals, as well as socialization for generations to come. Darling and Steinberg (1993) defined parenting as practices which are visible, specific behaviours that are directed towards socializing with their children. According to Curtis and Newman (2004), parenting is a family dynamic that often has a direct impact on and within a family. Hence, parenting is an important and necessary area to be researched upon. There are studies of Baumrind (1997); Muller and Kerbow (1993) on parenting which illustrate and examine its impact on children in different ways. Appropriate parenting becomes very vital at the stage of adolescence because this is a crucial stage for identity formation. The word 'adolescence' has a Latin origin, and means to grow or to mature. It is a period of transition where an individual evolves, both physically and psychologically from a child to an adult. The period of