My Sister's Keeper 

Blog 1

Parenting is different, physically and ideologically, for every set of parents. Everyone has their own values and beliefs so it is very hard to tell someone that their style of parenting is bad or incorrect. Some  things, such as physical and verbal abuse, are obvious indicators of bad parents but it is not always so simple. 

In My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, the parents definitely straddle the gray line between good and bad parenting. They did everything they did because they were just trying to help their daughter overcome cancer. They clearly care about their children but they also make it seem as if Kate is their favorite. Having a favorite, or most important, child is going to destroy the other children psychologically. 

http://www.cancer.net/coping-and-emotions/communicating-loved-ones/family-life

This page discusses how cancer effects family life. It explains how a cancer diagnosis changes individual roles and responsibilities within a family. Once Kate was diagnosed Brian and Sara had to switch their jobs from raising her to keeping her alive. They did the best that they could to keep her alive but they disregarded the effects it would have on the rest of their family. Anna is forced to struggle with the internal conflict of whether her parents love her or just want to use her for Kate. The article explains how honesty and communication are the two most important things to keeping a family together but in order to have those there needs to be trust. 

The Help

How does good parenting affect children?:

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2009/sep/positive-parenting-can-have-lasting-impact-generations

The article says,

"Positive parenting can have lasting impact for generations" 

It explains how a good set of parents will help a child develop and learn properly and that as 

an adult that child will be a much a better parent

The quality of a child's parenting can dictate the rest of their life. Most children, by 

mistake or aspiration, grow up to be a lot like their parents. This is obviously because of DNA, however, it is also because of learned habit. Most young children do not know or see much outside of their home life. This means that whatever they observe becomes their reality and "the normal." This explains why a child who grows up watching his parents fight, argue and neglect will be a different adult than a child who grows up with supportive, endearing parents.

How does bad parenting affect children?:

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/bad-parenting-affect-children-5074.html

The article says,

"Ineffective parenting adversely affects a child's psychological, social and behavioral

functioning."

The most common effects are behavioral problems, poor coping skills, academic problems, 

mental heath problems

These children are effected mentally for the rest of their life because of their parent's 

inability to raise them properly but what did the parents do to cause these severe 

problems? Two of the most powerful examples of bad parenting are neglect and 

(physical/verbal) abuse. Children who do not have a supportive adult figure as a parent 

often look to other adults for compensation. This can happen at school with a teacher, or 

coach, but many of the children living in Jackson Mississippi had maids to turn to for 

support.  

Heroism

Heroism is defined on google as, "great bravery." I like how broad that definition is because I think that heroism has many different definitions and possible interpretations. Being a hero for society takes courage and determination. You have to be able to make a change, something that doesn't come easy, and that helps the public. Everyone, however, can be someone else's hero by just being themselves and that's the best part about heroism.  

This website discusses how heroism has evolved over time. The current definition may differ from that of the ancient egyptians, or greek, but heroes and heroism have existed for seemingly forever:

http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/qualifications-for-heroism-changed

In The Help there are multiple characters that demonstrate heroism. Aibileen shows heroism while taking care of and raising Mae Molby. All she had to do was be herself but for that child she was a hero. Minnie demonstrates heroism with the pie that she made. It took a lot of courage for her to do what she did and she did it because she felt like it was the right thing to do. Even if it was not morally correct she felt like it had to be done out of equality and that's heroism. Skeeter is the last character that clearly shows heroism and her's is the most impressive. Skeeter makes a decision that she knows contradicts some of the most important ideals of of her friends and peers. She does what she thinks is the right thing to do even though it was not easy.

Barack Obama is known as a hero to people all across the world for being the first African American president. He had the courage to do what no one else had ever done even though people told him that he would not be able to.