What are the different parenting styles?

A parenting style can be defined as a parent's behavior with his or her child. There are four main types of parenting styles: Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive and Uninvolved. These styles are defined by four parenting dimensions, which are acceptance-rejection, involvement, structure and discipline, and monitoring and supervision.

Authoritarian Parenting Style

This is where parents have high standards and expectations for their children, but don't explain the reasons behind their rules. This leads to children having no sense of reasoning, which results to rebelliousness and anti-social behavior in the future.

Authoritative Parenting Style

This is where people express their love for their children by setting high standards for them, but also explain the reasons behind their rules. Children are more likely to be self-disciplined and accept limits.

Permissive Parenting Style

This is where parents convey low expectations, no boundaries or discipline; resulting to children lacking self-discipline. These children are more likely to act out because they don't know how to behave properly.

Uninvolved Parenting Style

This is where parents give little guidance for their children, communicating low expectations. As a result, children are more likely to be apathetic towards school and peer relationships.

Which parenting style is most effective?

The most effective parenting style is the Authoritative Parenting Style. It has more advantages compared to its counterparts, including more adequate social skills, strong immune system and academic success.

This parenting style is expected to result in a child who has a high emotional intelligence, which can make him or her happier and more successful both inside and outside the classroom.

What are the pros and cons of authoritative parenting?

Authoritative parenting has its pros and cons. It is more helpful in encouraging independence, but can also result to the child's rebellion against rules. However, this doesn't last for long since they will learn their boundaries after testing it a few times. Authoritative parents allow children to express themselves without feeling judged or criticized.

This style instils discipline, which can help children to develop a high self-esteem and confidence. However, this parenting style doesn't allow for individuality, making children feel restricted or tied down, leading them to act out in their teen years.

Which parenting style is most strict?

The Authoritarian Parenting Style is the strictest among the four. With high expectations but little communication, this style is known to result in rebellious children who do not understand why they are being punished.

This parenting style tends to convey that love is earned by their children's performance or behavior, which can cause low self-esteem and insecurity issues later on.

What are the pros and cons of authoritarian parenting?

The advantages of Authoritarian Parenting Style are that it instils a sense of discipline in children. However, some disadvantages include lacking understanding between parent and child as the method might be perceived as overly controlling. Rebelliousness, anxiety issues and low self-esteem can also arise from this style of parenting.

What is submissive parenting?

This refers to a parent who is constantly yielding to his or her child's demands. This results in children having no sense of boundaries, which can cause them to be bossy and demanding.

Submissive parenting can also result in disrespectful behavior towards authority figures later on, as the child might not understand consequences for their actions.

What are the pros and cons of submissive parenting?

The advantages of this parenting style are that children tend to grow up with a strong sense of independence. However, they become equally picky and stubborn. Furthermore, kids who were raised through submissive parenting would have a hard time adjusting in different settings. Their self-esteem can also be challenged through this parenting style.

Authoritative parenting tends to yield more positive results compared to its counterparts, but there is no one size fit all type of parenting style. It all depends on the family's preference. Parents should be able to find a happy medium between the four types of parenting styles and learn how to apply them accordingly with their children's needs and demands.

Final Thoughts

All of the parenting styles have their pros and cons. However, Authoritative Parenting Style is most effective in terms of social skills, strong immune system and academic success. It also encourages independence without being too controlling or restrictive on your child's individuality.

With this style you can instill discipline while still making sure that your children feel accepted for who they are as individuals with a high self-esteem and confidence.

In conclusion, it all depends on what type of family dynamic you want to create with your kids at home - do you want strict rules but lots of love? Or more lenient boundaries?