Parenting Styles
Infancy and early childhood is one of the most serious and complicated stage of development because in this span of ages, the human being’s world still evolves in its parents’ means of taking care of them. “Each phase of the parent- child interaction can alter the status of the child so that during the subsequent phase of interaction the child stimulates the parent in a different way or reacts differently to parent behavior. In turn, parents discover that previous behaviors are no longer appropriate, and they are faced with finding new ways of guiding and interacting with the child” ( Hamner, 2001). Parenting is a huge responsibility.
Some parents choose to practice an authoritative style of parenting. This type of parenting has high control but low responsiveness. Parents are often strict and have high expectations for their child’s behavior. They also value obedience and discipline and sometimes use punishment ...view middle of the document...
This type of parenting has low control and high responsiveness. These parents tend to be “more responsive than they are demanding. They are non-traditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation” (Baumrind, 1991). These parents allow their children to be self-directed and to make many of their own choices at a young age. Children with permissive parents usually do not have any household chores or responsibilities and a very few limits. The parents feel that they are encouraging their children to be free thinkers and to make their own decisions. The product of children that are raised by this type of parenting are usually rebellious, disobedient, and easily discouraged as well as show undesirable behaviors like temper tantrums. Many of them show little respect for authority figures (Cherry, 2011).
Parenting is a huge responsibility. Good parenting can result in happy parents and happy children. The two parenting styles that were mentioned in this paper are not the best styles to raise children with. Both types of parenting styles resulted in unhappy children. The best parenting style to use would be authoritative. This style establishes rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow but this style is much more democratic. The parents are responsive to their children and are willing to listen to their children’s questions (Hamner, 2001). In parenting and teaching children what is right and wrong the parents really need to use the same type of parenting style. If one parent is authoritative and the other is permissive, the child will be confused and will most likely be very unhappy. Parents need to work together to do what is best for their children. Happy children make happy parents.
References
Baumrind, D. (1991). The Influence of Parenting Styles on Adolescents Competence and
Substance Use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11 (1), 56-95.
Cherry, Kendra. (2011) Parenting Styles: The four Types of Parenting Styles. Retrieved Nov. 26,
2011 from http://psychology.about.com
T.J. Hamner, & P.H. Turner (2001). Parenting in contemporary society (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
