A Guide To The Different Types of Parenting
Parenting is one of the most important roles we can take on in life, and it’s no surprise that many of us want to ensure we’re doing our best for our children. But with so many different parenting styles out there, it can be hard to know which one is right for you and your family. In this article, I’ll guide you through the different types of parenting styles and help you with your journey of navigating this realm in your own life.
As a parent, you want to instill the best morals, care, emotional stability, warmth, love, and discipline in your children. Nevertheless, despite your best efforts, things do not always turn out as you had hoped.
The parenting style is one of the key causes. Numerous studies indicate that some parenting techniques are superior to others for both parents and children. So let’s take a look at the parenting styles.
What Is Parenting Style?
Your family’s daily routine, including punishment, regulations, and decisions, is governed by your parenting style. Parents communicate their attitudes regarding their children’s responsibilities within the context of their parenting style and engage in a number of specific parenting behaviors like applying consequences, checking to see that children are doing their homework, and participating in their activities. Parenting styles are determined by the use of body language, tone of voice, emotional outbursts, and level of attention to communicate parents’ general attitudes toward the child. This consistency in interaction patterns can be seen as early as the first year of a child’s life. Almost every element of parenting is influenced by culture, and every culture has its own set of socialization norms and customs that it recommends for raising children. Research has classified parenting into four types based on responsiveness and demandingness (Maccoby and Martin, 1983; Baumrind, 1991). Each parenting approach is accompanied by a certain set of actions and traits. The first is Authoritarian, next is Permissive, followed by Authoritative, and lastly Uninvolved.
4 Types of Parenting Styles
- Authoritarian: The parent in this situation will be quite strict with their child. They might scold or engage in other physical acts of intervention. This kind of parent does not offer much room for disobedience or errors; they constantly demand perfection from their kids. Authoritative parents feel they have authority over their homes and can influence their children’s behavior through the use of rewards and punishments (such as giving them privileges). Authoritative parents typically forbid their kids from disagreeing with them on any subject since they think that it will lead to bickering. These type of parents might even come across as cold and unresponsive to the child’s needs. Children with authoritarian parents tend to be emotionally unhappy, insecure, lacking in self-assurance, and experiencing low self-esteem. They are also more likely to experience behavioral disorders and mental health problems.
2. Permissive: Parents that practice permissive parenting, often referred to as indulgent parenting, are particularly receptive to the wants and needs of their kids. This is the opposite of authoritarian parenting. They frequently give their kids what they want instead of imposing rules or limitations, and they are typically quite lenient with them. They seldom use punishment and instead focus on positive reinforcement. Parents that are permissive usually have strong bonds with their kids and are very active in their lives. This approach can be beneficial in some ways, but it can also lead to spoiled children who lack self- discipline. This type of parenting approach has its own share of mental and behavioral problems for the kids.
3. Authoritative: A parent who practices authoritative parenting will insist that their child abide by a fair set of standards while also being receptive to their needs and respectful of their individuality and autonomy. This type of parent understands there is a delicate balancing act between being firm and loving. Although meeting high expectations from this parent can be quite demanding for a child, the parent is loving and nurturing if the child doesn’t succeed in the expectation..unlike authoritarian parents. Authoritative parents give their kids a clear set of guidelines and expectations, but they also give them the freedom to be autonomous and make their own decisions. It has been demonstrated that this kind of parenting approach results in successful, well-adjusted adults.
4. Uninvolved: Neglectful parenting is another term for this approach to raising children. You don’t ask for much from your kids and don’t do much as a parent to provide for their physical, emotional, and psychological needs. The majority of absent parents may have mental health problems like depression or anxiety. They can even have a history of physical abuse when they were a child. This parenting approach will result in more impulsive kids that have emotional and behavioral problems. Additionally, they might become disobedient, develop addictions, or even suffer from mental health problems.
Parenting is a tough job. It requires a lot of patience and self-control, as well as an understanding of your child’s needs and emotions. It is in this very balancing act that we model and teach the integration of love and caring with boundary setting to our children. Being aware of where you stand in your parenting style in relation to the other parenting styles is a gift: it can allow you to strive towards something different and begin the process of transforming your parenting journey.
Maccoby, E., and Martin, J. (1983). “Socialization in the context of the family: parent-child interaction”, in Handbook of Child Psychology Socialization, Personality, and Social Development, Vol. 4, eds. E. M. Hetherington and P. H. Mussen (New York, NY: Wiley), 1–101
Mandara, J. (2003). The typological approach in child and family psychology: a review of theory, methods, and research. Clin. Child Fam. Psychol. Rev. 6, 129–146. doi: 10.1023/A:1023734627624
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