Question

What positive benefits and negative consequences can result when parents provide unconditional love? Why should parents both love their children and also establish rules and expectations?

Answer 1

• Unconditional love is all about loving the children despite anything,regardless of what they do without any expectations.But unconditional love can have negative consequences as well.
• Getting full acceptance and love from your parents is extremely rewarding and you kind of develop fearlessness,since you know your parents will support you no matter what.We start taking them for granted and dependent on them too much for everything.
• Too much dependence on parents can make the child less confident and less responsible for their actions.As children grow they definitely need freedom to live their own life and make their own decisions,which unconditional love provides but too much of it without any realistic expectations from parents of becoming a responsible individual and not be reckless can have its negative consequences as well.
• In contrast, conditional parenting gives children the message that they must earn their parents’ love. Therefore, children feel they need to fulfill their parents’ expectations in order to receive their affection and approval. As a result, such children tend to exhibit anxiety and to question whether they are worthy of love, even when they reach adulthood.
• Parental affection can also help a child’s physical well-being.A combination of parenting style and unconditional love is something which I think works best for a child and is important to develop a strong sense of self esteem and take responsibility for one's own actions.
  
• Authoritative parents who discipline their children while also showing unconditional love and affection will explain to their children why they’re eating the wrong foods and teach them right from wrong, which makes them less likely to reach for that bad snack again.
• Unconditional love does not mean that a parent stops teaching their child what is morall good or bad,and indulge them in reckless behaviour.Thats not how healthy parenting happens.A balanced approach is needed,to teach children certain rules of life as well as support them whenever they need it.