What is Your Parenting Style?

What is Your Parenting Style?

How do you react when your child pleads to finish his/ her last round of mobile phone game before dinner? How about at times when your child is unable sit still or concentrate at school work? According to past research, there are 4 types of parenting styles and effects (Baumrind, 1967 and Maccoby & Martin, 1983).

Authoritarian Parenting where children are expected to follow the rules set by the parents strictly. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment. This style leads to children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence and self-esteem.

Authoritative Parenting is similar to Authoritarian Parenting where children are expected to follow rules and guidelines. However, the parents are more nurturing and forgiving rather than punishing. While the parents are assertive, they are not intrusive and restrictive. This style tends to result in children who are happy, capable and successful.

Permissive Parenting refers the style of parents who are nurturing and communicative with their children, often as like a friend more than that of a parent. They are more lenient and rarely discipline their children. This often results in children who rank low in self-regulation.

Uninvolved Parenting is usually the style of busy parents who will fulfill the child's basic needs but detached from their child's life. They are usually of few demands, low responsiveness and little communication. At such, their children tend to lack self-control and have low self-esteem.

While Authoritative Parenting style appears to be the best, parenting styles vary among couples and families due to differences in culture, beliefs, personality, parental background, educational level and so on. What is more important is for parents of each family to cooperate, combine various elements of their individual parenting styles to create a cohesive approach to parenting.

(Reference source: Kendra Cherry, About.com Guide)