Authoritative. In this parenting style, the parents are nurturing, responsive, and supportive, yet set firm limits for their children. They attempt to control children's behavior by explaining rules, discussing, and reasoning. They listen to a child's viewpoint but don't always accept it.
Authoritative parents tend to agree with statements like these: I take my child's wishes and feelings into consideration before I ask her to do something. I encourage my child to talk about his feelings. I try to help when my child is scared or upset.
Authoritarian parenting is extremely strict. Parents expect kids to follow the rules with no discussion or compromising. Parents use this approach for many reasons. Many choose this style because of their nationality, culture or ethical backgrounds dictate it.
Studies have found that authoritative parents are more likely to raise confident kids who achieve academic success, have better social skills and are more capable at problem-solving.
Permissive parents possess a high level of heat and a low level of control. Unlike permissive parents, authoritative parents do not tolerate bad behaviour in their children but take a firm stand and expect them to be responsible. Setting limits and boundaries for your child is the most loving thing you can do for them.
Authoritative parenting involves holistic consequences, such as computer restrictions or limited activity. Authoritarian parenting often resorts to demeaning or harsh punishment. Parents exert more control over their children but are less effective in their follow-through.
Example of Permissive Parenting
Permissive parents might make comments such as “I never say no to my child” or “my child chooses what they want to do.” Permissive parents struggle to set age appropriate boundaries and instead shift decision making to children.
The parenting style that is best for children is the supportive style. It's a style where you are warm and loving and you're affectionate but you also create structure and boundaries for your children, and you guide their behaviour.
Authoritative. In this parenting style, the parents are nurturing, responsive, and supportive, yet set firm limits for their children. They attempt to control children's behavior by explaining rules, discussing, and reasoning. They listen to a child's viewpoint but don't always accept it.
Authoritarian parenting, which uses stern, harsh behavior with children, can lead to moderately-high levels of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal. Children who're brought up by authoritarian parents tend to be worried about things that a normal child shouldn't be worried about.
Authoritarian parents display high levels of demandingness and low levels of responsiveness, tending to make rules and set high expectations but lack warmth and support. Authoritarian parents tend to “rule with an iron fist.” They are often described as strict, demanding, cold, critical, and punitive.
Various studies show that authoritative parenting is the best and the most effective parenting style to be applied universally to support optimal children's development.
Parents in this style have high expectations, but also know the importance of open communication and provide the support their kids need to be successful. They offer consistent discipline, considering the situation. They also are role models of the behavior they expect from their children.
Authoritative parents are strict and warm, while authoritarian parents are strict and cold. Authoritative parents discuss and explain rules to their children. They are open to give-and-take discussions and will modify rules if appropriate.
If you're a gentle or responsive parent, you validate your child's emotions and de-emphasize consequences. If you're an authoritative parent, you set hard boundaries and focus on following set rules.
Psychologists and experts agree that kids with an uninvolved or neglectful parent generally have the most negative outcomes. A neglectful mother is not simply a parent who gives a child more freedom or less face-time. Negligent parents neglect their other duties as parents, too.
Authoritarian Parenting
Parents using the authoritarian (“rigid ruler”) approach are low in support and high in demandingness. These parents expect and demand obedience because they are “in charge” and they do not provide any explanations for their orders.
The authoritative parenting style is the most common parenting style and the majority of the parents adopt mixed parenting styles. Proper counseling of parents on the appropriate parenting style in early childhood will optimize development in children.
Neglectful parenting is a style of parenting defined by a lack of parental interest or responsiveness to a child. These parents are similar to permissive indulgent parents in that they lack control of their children.
Parents with narcissistic traits were more likely to use one of the two non-optimal parenting styles, known as authoritarian and permissive. These parenting styles are characterized, respectively, by lack of warmth and rigidity, and warmth but lack of limits and structure.
The four main parenting styles — permissive, authoritative, neglectful and authoritarian — used in child psychology today are based on the work of Diana Baumrind, a developmental psychologist, and Stanford researchers Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin.