Parenting can be the most joyful experience in the world. It comes with the hard work and responsibility of caring for another person. Many times, we feel unprepared for the job, yet we rise to the occasion because of our love and joy for the little being we call our own. In the 1960s, Diana Baumrind (1966, 1967, 1971) researched various parenting styles used for childrearing and the outcomes they had on children.
She organized them into three parenting styles: permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative. Each style consisted of a combination of parental authority, values, and behaviors. The permissive parenting style used little control or punishment.
These parents encourage children to be responsible for their actions. The authoritarian parenting style uses a system of clear rules for family and children and expects them to be followed/obeyed. If not, punitive measures are used to control the child’s behavior, and there is no tolerance for disagreement
When communicating with their children, these parents use few supportive messages and discourage any response. The authoritative parenting style uses rules and age-appropriate expectations. They balance firm control with supportive communication. These parents encourage a child’s individuality by allowing two-way communication. The child can actively participate in the interaction. They provide discipline in a structured way by explaining the reasons behind their decision and their behavior. The results showed that the children who were parented with an authoritative style of parenting did well academically and had fewer behavior problems.
Maccoby and Martin (1983) suggest that this combination of demand and response allows two things to happen: 1.) the child becomes socialized to the rules they are expected to follow, independence is promoted, boundaries are established, and self-motivation is encouraged, and 2.) the child becomes self-regulated and self-reliant, and shows self-esteem and confidence.
References
- Baumrind, D. (1966). Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior. Child Development. 37:887-907.
- Baumrind, D. (1967). Child Care Practices Anteceding Three Patterns of Preschool Behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs. 75:45-83.
- Baumrind, D. (1971). Current Patterns of Parental Authority. Developmental Psychology. 4:1-101.
- Maccoby, F. & Martin, J. (1983). Socialization in the Context of the Family: Parent-child interaction. In FM Hetherington (Ed) & PH Mussen (Series Ed), Handbook of Child Psychology Vol. 4 Socialization, Personality, and Social Development. (pp 1-101) New York: Wiley.
