The 4 Types of Parenting Styles

Parenting styles are extremely important to the development of children. I am lucky to grow up in a warm family where the members support my decisions and encourage me to become the best version of myself. According to the observation of developmental psychologists, children in the same household may have completely different personalities while those who are raised in different environments share similar characteristics. We can find out the reason behind this mystery by exploring different parenting styles.

Psychologists in the 1960s originally discovered three parenting styles, with the addition of the fourth one later on. All of them revolve around discipline strategies, nurturing methods, and expectations.

Diana Baumrind, a developmental and clinical psychology, identified the first style as Authoritarian Parenting. In my opinion, this is the worst type of parenting because the guardians force their children to obey and follow their high expectations. They do not take the children's feeling into account and would not explain the reasons behind the rules. If the children were to rebel or disobey, they face punishments ranging from physical beatings to a decrease in pocket money. Unfortunately, the children who grow up under this parenting style are more likely to suffer from self esteem issues and may develop into a liar to avoid the punishments of breaking the rules.

Authoritative Parenting sounds similar to Authoritarian Parenting; however, there is a small difference between the two. Even though both Authoritative and Authoritarian Parents set rules and expectations for their children, Authoritative Parents are more responsive to their children's feelings as they value support and feedback. Authoritative Parents would incorporate a reward system and praise the children when they do the right thing. As a result, these children grow up to develop skills such as self-control, independence, and self-regulation.

The final type of parenting style that Diana Baumrind discovers is Permissive Parenting. This style is the complete opposite to Authoritarian Parenting. They demand very little of their children and set low expectations. Permissive Parents do enforce rules but they are not very strict about the consequences when the children break them. These parents are lenient and rarely confront the children. They take the role of their children's "friend" rather than "parents". Consequentially, the children may struggle academically or fall into the trap of obesity.

Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin discovered an additional type of parenting style known as the "Uninvolved Parents". As the name suggested, these parents would fulfill the children's basic needs such as providing shelter and food, but they do not communicate that much. The reasons behind this type of parenting range from a mentally disabled person to a busy businessman. In extreme cases where children have drug addicts as their parents, they are more likely to be neglected and their basic needs not met. Overall, the parents have little to no clues about the identity of their children. Due to a lack of knowledge regarding child development, these parents raise children who develop self-esteem issues and become unhappy.

In conclusion, the type of parenting can influence the children's future and their identity in society. However, there are some exceptions where the children grow up against the stereotypes set by the parenting style. These children are individualistic and have self improvement goals in their mind. Lastly, I would like to credit the two sources that I use to write this blog post: https://www.verywellfamily.com/types-of-parenting-styles-1095045 and

https://www.verywellmind.com/parenting-styles-2795072