The reason we say the parenting styles come in fours is due to the insight that we’re about to share with you. Parenting styles are as numerous as there are parents, but the styles can be identified with a little close scrutiny. There are four major categories that they fall into, 1. authoritarian, 2. indulgent, 3. uninvolved, and 4. authoritative (not to be confused with number one).
The number one style is the ‘authoritarian’ style. These parents act like they’re the president of the United States, and when they bark out orders, they’re to be followed, and never questioned. These parents aren’t interested in feedback, nor do they appreciate it. They have certain rules that govern the way they live, and they expect their children to follow them or else. This often leads to frustration in the kids. Boys tend to show more hostility with their frustration, and girls given in more easily, but it still comes out down the road.
The next parenting style is the ‘indulgent’ parent. They are very lenient. They allow behavior from their children that most parents wouldn’t put up with. They let the kids be free to learn for themselves without much intervention on their part. They don’t get confrontational with their kids, they just observe and make a few comments here and there, believing that the children will learn from their own mistakes and grow out of them.
The next parenting style is the authoritative parent. These parents are very demanding, and they are responsive as well. They expect certain behavior from their kids, and will also respond if that behavior falls short. They don’t run roughshod over their kids, actually welcoming feedback and input from them, but they don’t lower the expectations. Most children seem to respond well to this. Having a voice while still having some guidelines seems to work well with a lot of kids. They tend to learn about self-confidence more easily than kids in the other parenting brackets. Their emotional control and social interacting skills are superior to the kids who grow up under the other types of parents.
Now we come to the ‘uninvolved’ parents. Just like the label says, these parents just don’t want to be bothered with the responsibility of parenting, so they take a lax attitude toward the whole process. They are the kind that will be there if there’s an emergency, but up until then, the kids are on their own. They really don’t have any interest in feedback from their children, and the kids learn more from their friends and other parents than they do from this type.
All parents can choose to be whatever type they want to be, and children are our most valuable natural resource, so you would think people would take parenting as a serious and worthwhile opportunity.
Have there been any studies on which parenting style is most widely used? Its fun to speculate but I would be very interested to know which one leads the way in today's familys.
Independent of parenting styles, its a good idea to try to avoid some of the conflicts with your children. Most families have to deal with toys spread all over at least once a day. I built this Automatic toy cabinet to help PREVENT spreading toys all over in the first place. That's one less source of arguments.
What do you think?