Baumrind’s parenting styles are authoritative, permissive, authoritarian, and neglectful. Authoritarian parents set high standards and rules, leading to insecure children who rebel. Permissive parents set few rules, resulting in dependent children who struggle with responsibility. Authoritative parents set important rules and discuss them respectfully, leading to well-adjusted children and adults.
The three main parenting styles identified by Diana Baumrind’s research around 1978 are called authoritative, permissive and authoritarian. Some people include a fourth, neglectful, who falls into the permissive parenting style category.
An authoritarian parenting style typically means that a parent sets high standards and expectations for their children. These standards are accompanied by a large set of rules and restrictions. Methodical studies show that children raised in an authoritarian parenting style often lack confidence and feel inadequate because they don’t have the freedom to make their own choices. Also, because many rules are difficult to abide by, strict restrictions are often accompanied by parental criticism. An authoritarian parenting style creates responsible and productive adults who are nevertheless at risk of a nervous breakdown due to their perfectionist nature. Children of authoritarian parents are also more likely to rebel in their teens.
A permissive parenting style means that parents tend to set few rules or limitations for their children. Children are free to do as they please and as a result they tend to have difficulty getting along with other people. Permissive parents take care of their children but don’t set rules for a variety of reasons. Neglecting parents are similar in that they don’t set boundaries, yet they rarely provide affection or basic needs, and in affection they are absent from their child’s life. For this reason many people don’t consider abandonment as a parenting style because neglectful parents don’t make an effort to raise their children.
Children raised with a permissive parenting style often tend to feel insecure and very dependent because they have not been given the direction, routine and pattern necessary for children to gain self-confidence. These children also tend to have a weaker sense of responsibility and remain dependent on others. Children of permissive parents are more likely to use drugs or get into legal trouble as teenagers and adults.
An authoritative parenting style means that parents determine and establish a certain set of rules that are not too numerous but are deemed important by the children. The authoritative parent discusses these boundaries with their children respectfully and gives them reasons why they need to be supported. Authoritative children have a good sense of responsibility, independence, respect and trust.
Derived from years of research, developmental psychologists believe that an authoritative parenting style leads to more well-adjusted children and adults. Authoritarian parenting style comes second to permissive parenting style as the preferred way to guide children. While most parents love their children and raise them the best way they know how, determining and adjusting your parenting style can help avoid later conflicts, especially in the teen years.
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