Are Parents the Best Teachers?

   For many people, parents are not only their first two teachers but also the most important two teachers. In spite of that, I think we cannot say parents are the best teachers.

The first reason is that the knowledge of our parents is limited. Maybe they can teach us elementary knowledge, such as simple language and basic math, but often it is not as accurate as that we learn in the school, and they cannot remember some knowledge. Because of several years of working, they have already forgotten a lot of knowledge which has little link with their jobs. For example, my father is a civil engineer, so what he mostly uses in his work is the knowledge about math and physics. When I ask him about chemistry problems, he usually says he does not know how to solve it as he has not used this kind of knowledge for many years.

Secondly, children can get bad influence on their behaviors from their parents more or less. A teacher’s task is more than teaching us knowledge, but also includes teaching us how to behave properly in life. Generally, before a child goes to school, he spends the most time with his parents. His behaviors would be  influenced by them to a certain extent. Sometimes he imitates what they do without much thinking. He learns the way they solve everyday issues. He learns the way they treat others. Some children may think what their parents do is always right.  They can learn how to be polite, how to be filial while they also pick up their bad habits. That is why a child whose parents are both smokers is more likely to become a teenage smoker. Perhaps he wants to know why his parents seem so enjoyable when they are puffing and just does it.

Except the limiting knowledge and some bad behaviors, sometimes our parents’ perceptions towards some issues are one sided. Parents’ view could influence the way children think.  Children should know more aspects of an issue. If they just follow parents’ opinion, it would be bad for them to develop the ability of critical thinking. What is worse, some parents even force their children to obey them. They do not want to give space to their children to think themselves. One of my friends said that his father was a very dictatorial person. He could not choose to do what he thought was right when he was very young. He just did what his father allowed him to do and said what his father would feel satisfied with. He was afraid to ask a question because of his father's bad temper.

Though the whole society suggests that parents should be our friends and they should also respect our opinion, sometimes the roles they play in our life are more like our superiors. They are not willing to say they are wrong when they are really wrong. Some parents think they are always right if they have conflicts with their children. 

 Parents who do not want to say“I do not know” or “I am sorry” cannot be the best teachers. However, unfortunately, a lot of parents are like this. Lacking of knowledge and strong desire to let children obey them are many parents’ disadvantages. At the same time, so close touch with parents also makes it easier for children to take up parents’ bad aspects. All of the above lead to that parents may not be the best teachers.