Different Types Of Parenting Styles

Becoming a parent for the first time can be one of the world’s scariest responsibilities for anyone especially when there are no instructions given to the parent when the child is born. That leaves many questions for new parents on how to raise their child while most just go with the way they best see fit. Some parents may consider selecting a parenting style to incorporate in their lifestyle and try to identify themselves with one in order to raise their children with the best intentions. According to Santrock (2016) Diana Baumrind insisted that there are four major parenting styles that parents can identify with; Authoritarian, Authoritative, Neglectful, and Indulgent (Santrock, 2016). These parenting styles each have their unique way of …show more content…
A parent who identifies with this parenting style will almost always place limits and controls on their children. For example, the parent may enforce having limited screen time or having a curfew set in place for the children to abide by. The parents that identify with this specific style also expect “independent and age-appropriate behavior” from their children and are willing to listen to the child’s point of view in any given situation (Santrock, 2016). Despite authoritative parents’ high demand and control over their child they will tend to still be encouraging of their child and want their children to learn from any mistakes the child makes and will be accepting of the child’s inappropriate behavior if they were to misbehave. Authoritative parents would also assign some sort of punishment for violating the restrictions placed upon them. Although there are numerous opinions on which parenting style ranks above the others, of the four major parenting styles, authoritative parenting clearly demonstrates that this style has the most benefits for the child and the overall family (Santrock, 2016). Even though research insists that there are benefits attached to this parenting style, a parent may notice that this type of parent- child relationship might not work out as expected. Authoritative parenting has the most benefits for children and one of these benefits include …show more content…
The parents may provide support and encouragement yet they lack placing limits on their child for any reason. These types of parents believe that their children will be more independent than if they were to place limits on their child. Although this may seem appealing to the child it could still potentially be dangerous for the parents to identify with this style (Mgbemere B. & Telles R, 2013). Eventually, parents may find themselves having to bribe their child to complete a task or may be afraid to cause conflict with their child. These characteristics can cause the child to believe that they are entitled to everything and will have difficulty forming friendships with peers throughout their school career. The child may also struggle with anyone who has authority over them for example a teacher, a principle, or even a babysitter. The child could even have the opportunity of controlling the parent and becoming very demanding of the parents. Therefore, the parent may become torn between trying to take control of the parent child relationship or allowing the child to maintain control. If trying to implement new strategies into the current parenting style proves to be far more difficult it is advised again to seek out the help of a licensed therapist to try and resolve the current issues between the child and the parent (Mgbemere B. &