Parenting styles

Parenting Styles are psychological constructs that represent standard strategies used in child rearing. There are several different theories and concepts about the best and most effective parenting styles. Experts have categorized these into four general categories: authoritative, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritarian.

Authoritative Parenting

Authoritative parenting is characterized by a child-centered approach that holds high expectations of maturity. Authoritative parents can understand their children's feelings and teach them how to regulate them. They also encourage positive behavior, discipline in a fair and reasonable manner, and involve their children in family decision-making.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parenting, also known as indulgent parenting, is characterized by low demands with high responsiveness. Permissive parents tend to be very loving, yet provide few guidelines and rules. These parents do not expect mature behavior from their children and often seem more like a friend than a parental figure.

Uninvolved Parenting

Uninvolved parenting, also called neglectful parenting, is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness, and little communication. While these parents fulfill the child's basic needs, they are generally detached from their child's life. In extreme cases, these parents may even reject or neglect the needs of their children.

Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritarian parenting is characterized by high demands and low responsiveness. Parents with an authoritarian style have very high expectations of their children, yet provide very little in the way of feedback and nurturing. Mistakes tend to be punished harshly.

Impact on Child Development

The impact on child development of different parenting styles may affect children differently. Children raised by authoritative parents tend to be more capable, happy, and successful. Children raised by permissive parents tend to struggle academically and may exhibit behavioral problems. Children raised by uninvolved parents are likely to struggle with self-esteem issues, perform poorly in school, and exhibit frequent behavior problems. Children raised by authoritarian parents have higher chances of depression, low self-esteem, and lower levels of certain social and academic skills.

See Also

• Child development
• Parenting
• Child psychology
• Child discipline

References

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