Parenting Styles

1. Parenting Styles HPC 3OI

2. What is a Parenting Style? • A parenting style is a psychological construct representing standard strategies that parents use in their child rearing. • There are many differing theories and opinions on the best ways to rear children, as well as differing levels of time and effort that parents are willing to invest. Parental investment starts before birth. • Many parents create their own style from a combination of factors, and these may evolve over time as the children develop their own personalities and move through life's stages. • Parenting style is affected by both the parents' and children's temperaments, and is largely based on the influence of one’s own parents and culture. • "Most parents learn parenting practices from their own parents — some they accept, some they discard.

3. Theories of Parenting: • Diana Baumrind (1966) was interested in the connection between the parental behavior and the development of instrumental competence, which refers to the ability to manipulate the environment to achieve one's goals. • In her research, she found what she considered to be the four basic elements that could help shape successful parenting: responsiveness vs. unresponsiveness and demanding vs. undemanding. • From these, she identified three general parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. • Maccoby and Martin expanded the styles to four: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful in 1983. • These four styles of parenting involve combinations of acceptance and responsiveness on the one hand and demand and control on the other.

4. Authoritative • The parent is demanding and responsive. • Authoritative parenting, also called 'assertive democratic' or 'balanced' parenting • Characterized by a child-centered approach that holds high expectations of maturity. • Authoritative parents can understand how their children are feeling and teach them how to regulate feelings. • They often help their children to find appropriate outlets to solve problems. Authoritative parents encourage children to be independent but still place controls and limits on their actions. • Extensive verbal give-and-take is not refused, and parents try to be warm and nurturing toward the child. • Authoritative parents are not usually as controlling as authoritarian parents, allowing the child to explore more freely, thus having them make their own decisions based upon their own reasoning. Often, authoritative parents produce children who are more independent and self-reliant.[ • An authoritative parenting style mainly results when there is high parental responsiveness and high parental demands.

5. What It Looks Like • You establish rules and guidelines you expect your children to follow • You are much more democratic – you respond to your children and are willing to listen to their questions • When rules are broken parents are more nurturing and forgiving than punishing • You are assertive but not intrusive and restrictive • Discipline is supportive rather than punitive

6. Authoritarian • The parent is demanding but not responsive. • Becomes totalitarian parenting. • Authoritarian parenting, also called strict parenting • Characterized by high expectations of conformity and compliance to parental rules and directions, while allowing little open dialogue between parent and child. • Authoritarian parenting is a restrictive, punitive parenting style in which parents make their children follow their directions and respect their work and effort. • Authoritarian parents expect much of their child, but generally do not explain the reasoning for the rules or boundaries. • Authoritarian parents are less responsive to their child’s needs, and are more likely to ground their child rather than discuss the problem. • Authoritarian parenting deals with low parental responsiveness and high parental demand, the parents tend to demand obedience without explanation and focus on status.

7. What it Looks Like • Children are expected to follow the strict rules set by their parents • Failure to follow rules results in punishment • You fail to explain why those rules are in place • Your response is usually “because I said so” • You have high demands and don’t believe in affection towards your child

8. Indulgent/Permissive • The parent is responsive but not demanding. • Indulgent parenting, also called permissive, non-directive or lenient • Characterized as having few behavioral expectations for the child. "Indulgent parenting is a style of parenting in which parents are very involved with their children but place few demands or controls on them." • Parents are nurturing and accepting, and are responsive to the child's needs and wishes. • Indulgent parents do not require children to regulate themselves or behave appropriately. • This may result in creating spoiled brats or "spoiled sweet" children depending on the behavior of the children. • Children of permissive parents may tend to be more impulsive, and as adolescents, may engage more in misconduct, and in drug use. • "Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way.“ • The teens least prone to heavy drinking had parents who scored high on both accountability and warmth. • So-called 'indulgent' parents, those low on accountability and high on warmth, nearly tripled the risk of their teen participating in heavy drinking.

9. What it Looks Like • You are indulgent and make few demands of your children • Children do not need to be disciplined because they are immature and lack self-control • You are nurturing and communicative with your child but avoid confrontation • You are the parent that wants to be seen as a friend by your child

10. Neglectful • The parent is neither demanding nor responsive. • Neglectful parenting is also called uninvolved, detached, dismissive or hands-off.. • The parents are low in warmth and control, are generally not involved in their child's life, are disengaged, undemanding, low in responsiveness, and do not set limits. • Neglectful parenting can also mean dismissing the children's emotions and opinions. • Parents are emotionally unsupportive of their children, but will still provide their basic needs. Provide basic needs meaning: food, housing, and toiletries or money. • Neglectful parenting can stem from a variety of reasons, this includes the parents prioritizing themselves, lack of encouragement on the parent's parts, financial stresses, lack of support and addiction to harmful substances.

11. What it Looks Like • Your child does not lack basic needs • You prefer to not get too involved in your child’s life • You have few demands • You are unresponsive • Communication is not necessary • Sometimes you may even reject or neglect the needs of your child

12. Other Additional Parenting Styles • THE DRIVEN PARENT • You’re not like those other parents that push their kids too hard – you really care about your child • Your child will really thrive if they get at least eight hours of sleep and three balanced meals every day • All of your child’s spare time is spent practicing their “gifts” for music, sports and/or art • You work overtime to make sure that your child has an RESP for when they go to university • It’s possible that you may have lacked some things growing up but you will make sure that your child has all the opportunities that you didn’t

13. THE PRACTICAL PARENT • You hold a sensible, no-nonsense attitude towards parenting, and probably life in general • You wouldn’t think twice about dressing your kids in hand-me-downs, packing leftovers for lunch, or buying bunk beds to save room • You make a little bit go a long way and never lack the necessities • You’re careful and caring but never too mushy

14. THE WHIMSCIAL PARENT • The kids love you to death • You are always up to something different • Children have very short attention spans but you keep them spellbound for hours • Everyday brings new experiences and you are always looking at the positive • Instead of watching TV inside on a rainy day you take the little ones outside to find the largest puddle to jump in • You kids are most likely to grow up with vivid imaginations

15. LAISSEZ- FAIRE • You have your children discover life on their own without any input from you • You trust nature to takes it course most of the time • You don’t spoil or indulge your children • You would never buy into the latest “Hannah Montana” craze with your kids • Cheap, well-made clothes and a quality used bike are all your kid needs to keep them going for a long time • Perhaps early on in life you learned not to trust anyone or anything too much • You want to make sure that your kids never get the wool pulled over their eyes like you did

16. Parenting Style Response • Based on what we have discussed in class answer the following questions in full sentences well thought out answers. • What type of parenting style did your parents or caregivers use and provide a variety of specific examples that highlight their style. • Did your parents or caregivers have different styles? If so what were they and how were they different. If they were the same do you think this was more beneficial and why?| • What parenting style do you hope to best provide for your children one day and why? Please provide specific examples. • What are the advantages and disadvantages of the parenting style you think you will most likely represent some day?