There are tons of books on how to raise children, there are no books that can fully prepare you. A lot of what you read in the books are either from a specialist or psychologist who may not even have children and if they do have children, their Types of Parenting Styles are likely different from yours.
For instance, two families may prepare their kids for bed at the same time every night, however, when the morning comes, their routines may be different, maybe one family’s child eats breakfast before leaving for school and the other family’s child may have breakfast at school. Some kids may be able to go outside and play for a bit after school, while the other kids have to get straight to homework, after their school snack.
What are the Types of Parenting Styles — And What’s Yours?
Parenting style refers to the combining of methods used in raising your children. Parenting can be hard if you don’t know your parenting style or where to start in trying to figure it out. Fortunately, in the 1960s, Diane Baumrind realized this and created four parenting styles.
Today, those same parenting styles are widely utilized in psychology. Diane Baumrind was able to notice that preschoolers clearly demonstrated different behavioral types and that each type was highly correlated to a specific style of parenting. She believed that different types of parenting could lead to a difference in the development and outcome of a child’s overall mannerism due to the relationship between your child’s behavior and your parenting style.
What Are The Types Of Parenting Styles?
Based on extensive observations, interviews and analysis, Baumrind originally defined three parenting styles, until 1983 when Maccoby and Marting added the fourth.
- Authoritative Parenting
- Authoritarian Parenting
- Permissive Parenting​ (indulgent parenting style)
- Uninvolved Parenting (neglectful parenting style)
The four parenting styles also go by the names Baumrind Parenting Styles, Maccoby and Martin Parenting Styles.
How Your Parenting Styles Can Affect Your Child’s Behavior
There are two dimensions of parental style based on behavior:
Demandingnes relates to the scope in which parents dominate their children’s behavior or maturity level.
Responsiveness relates to the extent that parents are sensitive as well as accepting to their children’s developmental and emotional needs.
Understanding the Different Parenting Styles
1.  Authoritative Parenting — High Demandingness, and High Responsiveness
Authoritative parents tend to have really high expectations for their children to reach a high level of achievement and maturity, however, they are responsive and affectionate towards their children.
These parents set and enforce rules and boundaries by inviting open discussion, issuing guidance, and applying to reason. This allows for the child to have a sense of awareness while teaching children about morals, values, and goals.
Although their disciplinary techniques can be aggressive and concerning with regulating their behaviors, these parents are affectionate and supportive, while providing their children with autonomy in an effort to encourage their independence.
The children of authoritative parents seem to:
- Appear happy and content
- Are more independent
- Are more active
- Achieve higher academic success​
- Develop good self-esteem​
- Interact with peers using competent social skills​
- Have better mental health
- Exhibit less violent tendencies​
- Are securely attached
2. Authoritarian Parenting — High Demandingness, and Low Responsiveness
Low levels of responsiveness and high levels of parental control are the two main traits that make up authoritarian parenting. Although very similar sounding to authoritative parenting they are not the same in the sense of their approach, belief, and demand.
Authoritarian parents demand blind obedience, theirs is a one way communication type of situation. Authoritarian style parenting is usually with stern discipline, including harsh punishments as a tool to control their children. They also don’t seem to be in touch with their maternal/ paternal instincts as they are normally not nurturing or responsive to their children’s needs and blame tough love as the reason for the treatment.
Children of an authoritarian parenting style tend to:
- Be unhappy
- Are more dependent
- Be insecure
- Demonstrate low self-esteem
- Present more behavioral issues
- Academically challenged
- Lacks social skills
- Be more at risk for mental instability
- Have a stronger chance of drug use problems​
- Have a terrible coping mechanism​
3. Permissive Parenting (Indulgent) — Low Demandingness, Responsiveness
With permissive parents, boundaries and rules have hardly any limitations for their children, and enforcing the rules that are in place aren’t top priority as they’d rather not enforce them.
These types of parents dislike saying no to or disappointing their children, and they are very caring and permissive of their children. Unsurprisingly, children with permissive parenting tend to have the lousiest progress, they:
- Can’t follow the rules
- Have no self-control.
- Demonstrate selfish behavior.
- Deal with more difficulties in social interactions and relationships.
4. Neglectful Parenting — Low Demandingness, Low Responsiveness
Neglectful or uninvolved parents don’t seem to set any limitations on their children, nor do they have high standards for them, as they seem to be more involved in themselves rather than their child’s needs. This type of temperament may be due to diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health challenges.
Children of neglectful parenting:
- Are impulsive.
- Cannot control their emotions.
- Has more problems with delinquency, drugs and alcohol.
- Deals with more mental instabilities — e.g. Suicidal behavior in adolescents.
