How does Atticus’s parenting contribute to the growth and maturity of the children?

How does Atticus’s parenting contribute to the growth and maturity of the children?

By using different ways of teaching Atticus, allows his children to mature with good principles and behavior. As Scout and Jem come to Atticus for help through the stages of their life, they learn from their father principles and rules that can make their life as adults easier if correctly applied. As a single parent Atticus excels at raising his children even thought there is not a mother in the house to provide the guidance and compassion that mothers normally have a gift for.

Atticus Finch teaches his children to do what is right and correct, by encouraging them and demonstrating how attitudes can affect life: “If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have” (page 37) Atticus understands the pressure that Scout feels from her teacher but wants her to persist. This demonstrates Atticus wants Scout to follow her teacher’s instructions and learn to live with the pressures of life and at the same time to enjoy the activities she loves while learning more through additional readings. “Let’s get this: you do as Calpurnia tells you, you do as I tell you, and as long as your aunt’s in this house, you will do as she tells you. Understand?” (Page 142) This statement demonstrates that Atticus wants is daughter to demonstrate respect for everyone including servants even if that means she has to keep her opinions for herself. In this passage Atticus is trying to demonstrate to his daughter that in life she has to respect people even if she does not agree with their opinions. It is clear that Atticus cares about his children enough to demonstrate to them how certain behaviors can affect their life.

Atticus corrects his children’s behavior and language, causing their behaviors to alter towards some topics. “Don’t say nigger, Scout. That’s common.” (Page 81) This make obvious that even thought Atticus knows everyone in town use the term “niggers” to refer to black people he wants his children to be better than that. Therefore, we see that Atticus is a caring father because he wants his children to behave in a more caring and respectful manner and therefore become better citizens. ”Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down” (Page 83) in this quote Scout explains the reasons why she felt compelled not to fight. Her father taught her to be a better person and she respected his opinion. This demonstrates that no matter how much Atticus feels his children sometimes do not respect him because of the lack of a mother, they still do. It is clear that the principles Atticus teaches them so well that his children feel compelled to follow those teachings word for word given that they fear disappointing Atticus.

Lastly, Atticus wants to introduce some behavior changes in his life before he can teach his children. “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (Page 81) This statement demonstrates that Atticus wants to apply correct principles to his life before teaching his children. Atticus believes that he can not demand from his children something he is not applying to his life himself. “Heck, can’t you even try to see it my way?... If they don’t trust me they won’t trust anybody.” (Page 280) Atticus wants to prove that Jem is innocent trough the law and not trough his own connections. His attitudes influence the reader to believe that Atticus has integrity because despite loving his son he believes that the law should demonstrate his innocence and not the connections that he as a father has with the sheriff. It is obvious that Atticus enjoys teaching his children not only trough words but through his example and the application of laws and rules.

Atticus sets a great model to what parents should be nowadays because through the examples mentioned above his children will eventually become adults with principles and those principles will help them succeed through their life. Although his children believe that the education he provides is very strict and does not allow them many times to do what they would like it is still very important to set the correct structures that will help them grow and mature.