Comparison of Parenting Styles

Over time, many studies have achieved a common objective; to group parenting behaviors into related clusters called parenting styles. Parenting styles, according to a 2007 article in the “Journal of Education and Human Development,” are a mixture of demandingness and responsiveness. Authoritarian parents are

With over three hundred million Americans and over six billion people worldwide parenting skills are essential to maintain a healthy society. Parenting involves many aspects and requires many skills. It is a time to nurture, instruct, and correct to develop fundamental skills children will need to be mature, responsible, and contributing adults to a society. There are four commonly identified parenting styles; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. Of the four parenting styles, two remain on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. These two styles; authoritarian, and permissive both have deleterious results that are often visible throughout different developmental stages, such as rebellious behavior. As well

Before having kids, everyone has an idealistic fantasy of what type of parent they are going to be. Will they be a Mary Poppins or a Mommy Dearest? These two women parented in very different but similar ways. Mary Poppins used an authoritative approach to parenting whilst Mommy Dearest used an authoritarian approach. Authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles are the most widely used styles in modern day parenting, with authoritative parenting being the one with the most positive results in terms of child development. They are similar in what parents expect from their children but differ in the way that parents respond to their children’s needs. The effects of the chosen parenting style can be seen in the way that a child feels about themselves and how they interact with the outside world.

While developmental experts agree that rules and boundaries are important for children to have, most believe that authoritarian parenting is too punitive and lacks the warmth, unconditional love and nurturing that children need.

The authoritarian parenting style is a style in which the parent has the only say. This parenting style “is based on obedience and the expectation of a child obeying without an explanation required” (McMillian). Authoritarian parents are more likely to discipline their children. Children of authoritarian parents don’t often get

Research in parenting styles has found a large amount of correlation between parenting behavior and certain long-term outcomes for children. Specifically, parenting styles have been shown to correlate to a child’s obedience level, school competence, delinquency, violence, sexual activity, antisocial behavior, alcohol and substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and self-perception. The members of your family are the most prevalent relationships you will have in your life. Therefore, they will have the most influence in your future behavior. This paper examines the similarities and differences among authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and neglecting parenting styles and the effects on a child’s development and the resulting adolescent’s behavior.

Authoritarian parents normally do not interact with their children in positive ways and usually install fear into the child. Punishment is usually harsh and given without explanation. Children with authoritarian parents are often anxiety- ridden. Studies have shown that these children have lower self- esteem, show high aggressiveness and typically do less well in school. Permissive parenting consists of high nurture and acceptance, but these parents lack structure and control. These parents look at their children as “free spirits” who need space to learn and grow. Permissive parents are usually inconsistent with discipline. Children with permissive parents normally are impulsive and irresponsible. These children also lack any self- control since none was expected (Sclafani 47).

Authoritative parents are supportive of their children and this style is deemed the most beneficial and effective parenting style used today (“Pros and Cons”, n.d.). The style creates a healthy environment for children and this style helps foster a productive relationship between children and their parents. Children with authoritative parents tend to have a high self-esteem. Furthermore, communication between parties is excellent, and that is what makes it a popular style for parents. The authoritative parenting style creates clear rules, but there is leeway and exceptions within the rules. There are no obvious negatives with this parenting style. However, a mischievous child may try to take advantages of his parents that use this style. Danny’s parents would talk to him about how the ball broke the window, and they would suggest that next time he plays in another area of the yard. The authoritative style is the most preferred style in society

Thesis: The authoritative parenting style is the most effective style for producing children that have desirable traits, such as good morals, obedience, compassion and responsibility.

Authoritarian is the second most common type of parenting style of the four parenting styles. This type of style occurs when parents set very high expectations for their children and set strict rules that they expect him or her

Parenting styles are used to define in what manner a parent interacts with their child. A theory, first proposed by Baumrind, breaks down parenting styles into three different levels of control and warmth. Permissive parenting involves leniency and indulging the child’s needs, whereas authoritarian parenting involves high levels of control and punishment. In the middle lies authoritative parenting, a style of parenting that practices control, but also values communication and individuality (Karmakar, 2015). In North America, parents are often stuck between an authoritative and permissive style of parenting. Oftentimes, it is believed that a child receives greater happiness and growth from a warm family that directs little control over the actions of the child (Barton & Hirsch, 2014). However, the opposite is true; parents enforcing an authoritative style aided children in higher confidence, allowing them to tackle difficult activities (Hibbard & Walton, 2014). Due to the lack of benefits attained from a permissive style of parenting, it is encouraged that an authoritative style, focusing on warmth and control, be adopted.

In the early 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrid conducted a research, analyzing child-parent behavior, seeking to identify parenting styles. The Baumrid study and other further studies identified four main styles of parenting (Miller, 2010): the authoritative parenting style was characterized by fair rules and consequences; The Authoritarian parenting style was characterized by strict rules and harsh punishment; the permissive parenting style was characterized by minimal rules with little or no consequences; the uninvolved parenting style was characterized by no rules, and parent presence was almost non-existent. In this paper, I’m going to look at the authoritarian style of parenting in an attempt to draw out its characteristics and its immediate and later impacts on children impact.

The authoritative parenting style is the “In between,” of both the authoritarian and permissive parenting styles, and has a “Give and take approach.” Authoritative parents are very involved in their children’s lives: children help around the home and in decision-making processes, and homework is supervised. This approach to parenting raises children who are responsible, well behaved in school, have a high self-esteem, and good problem solving skills along with decision making skills. The authoritative approach to parenting has very positive effects on children’s lives presently, and in the future. (Marsiglia, C.,Walczyk, J., Buboltz, W., Ross, D. 2007).

The next parenting style and the best of all four is called the authoritative parenting style. These parents set clear and consistent boundaries and are firm on rules. Despite being strict, they are also supportive and loving. They take their time to explain and reason with their children as to why they should act a certain way and possible consequences otherwise. The children of authoritative parents are usually very independent, self-confident, sociable and pleasant, and successful. They generally display self-regulation and positive behaviour (Feldman & Landry, 2014, p.172).

“Baumrind (1967, 1971) identified three main styles of parenting”, explains Swartz, de la Rey, Duncan and Townsend (2011:65). The three main styles of parenting are authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting and permissive parenting. Furthermore, each one of these parenting styles is associated with certain outcomes based on the behaviour of the child, the type of relationship that the child has with the parent and even the child’s self-esteem. However, according to a psychological expert Cherry (2015) “developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents impact child development”. In brief, this might mean that, parents’ actions and behaviour have a huge impact on their child, which may cause the child to adopt the behaviour and make it a habit as they grow to be parents. So, as a parent you should always keep in mind that “your kids watch you for a living. It’s their job, it’s what they do. That’s why it’s so important to try your best to be a good role model”, declares Lehman (n.d.). I will now discuss the authoritarian