DPT0001 Parenthood in Life
Generally, discourse on parenthood is child-focused. It tempts the public to review the work done by parents in terms of its effect on the child, and usually underscores the wearisome duties of parenting. However, as suggested by the Existentialist school of thought, people’s “know-why” in parenthood will affect their “know-how” in parenting, and what most parents really need is not simply the skills of parenting, but a commitment to parenthood. This module will broaden participants’ horizons by covering the existential and developmental dimensions of parenthood, scrupulously interpreting the latent crisis and life momentum behind daily parenting practice. Equal attention will be given to the meaning and concern, need and opportunity, challenge and obstacle, as well as the developmental effect of parenthood on the parents themselves from early parenthood to grandparenthood. The significance of offspring and future generations for the healthy development of a person as a self-actualizing and generative individual as emphasized in humanistic psychology, will be thoroughly discussed and analysed.
DPT0002 Humanistic Child Discipline
This module will provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on their own experience of punishment in childhood and critically examine how they might have been simultaneously moulded in their characters, self-perception and interpersonal orientation by this. The stress of restraint and the underlying assumptions in most child-rearing practice will be scrutinized to show their latent adverse effects on those involved. Discipline and punishment will be meticulously differentiated from their philosophical stances. Participants will be facilitated to further appreciate discipline via the humanistic lens and the essentiality of rules and regulations for children in the acquisition of a sense of safety and certainty in their formative years. Productive use of behaviour management will be demonstrated to be a device to incubate independent living and the innate strength of life as well as catering to the basic genetic needs of people as suggested by Reality Therapy. The module will also integrate theories of social influence, and participants will recognize how behaviour change in a child can be achieved through different psychosocial processes, including identification and internalization.