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Why Parenting Styles Matter When Raising Children

Verywell / Laura Porter

• Limitations

Parenting styles are constructs used to describe the different strategies parents tend to utilize when raising children. These styles encompass parents' behaviors and attitudes and the emotional environment in which they raise their children.

Developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents affect child development . However, finding actual cause-and-effect links between specific actions of parents and the later behavior of children is very difficult.

Some children raised in dramatically different environments can grow up to have remarkably similar personalities. Conversely, children who share a home and are raised in the same environment can grow up to have very different personalities.

Despite these challenges, researchers have posited that there are links between parenting styles and the effects these styles have on children. And some suggest these effects carry over into adult behavior.

The Four Parenting Styles

In the 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrind conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children. Using naturalistic observation , parental interviews, and other research methods , she identified important dimensions of parenting.

These dimensions include disciplinary strategies, warmth and nurturing, communication styles, and expectations of maturity and control. Based on these dimensions, Baumrind suggested that the majority of parents display one of three different parenting styles. Later research by Maccoby and Martin suggested adding a fourth parenting style. Each of these has different effects on children's behavior.

The four parenting styles identified by Baumrind and other researchers are:

• Authoritarian parenting style
• Authoritative parenting style
• Permissive parenting style
• Uninvolved parenting style

Authoritarian Parenting

In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow strict rules established by the parents. Failure to do so usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents don't explain the reasoning behind these rules, either. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply, "Because I said so."

Other common characteristics include:

• While these parents have high demands, they are not very responsive to their children.
• They expect their children to behave exceptionally and not make errors, yet they provide little direction about what they should do or avoid in the future.
• Mistakes are punished , often quite harshly, yet their children are often left wondering exactly what they did wrong.

Baumrind says these parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation." They are often described as domineering and dictatorial. Their approach is "spare the rod, spoil the child." They expect children to obey without question.

Effects of Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritarian parenting styles generally lead to obedient and proficient children but can also lead to increased anxiety , lower self-reliance, and reduced intrinsic motivation . Children may also be more likely to lie to avoid punishment.

Authoritative Parenting

Like authoritarian parents, those with an authoritative parenting style establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. However, this parenting style is much more democratic.

Here are a few common characteristics of the authoritative parenting style:

• Authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions.
• These parents expect a lot of their children but also provide warmth, feedback, and adequate support.
• When children fail to meet expectations , these parents are more nurturing and forgiving than punishing.

According to Baumrind, authoritative parents are good at setting standards and monitoring their children's behavior. Their disciplinary methods are assertive and supportive rather than intrusive, restrictive, or punitive.

For authoritative parents, the goal is to raise children who are socially responsible, cooperative, and self-regulated. The combination of expectation and support helps children of authoritative parents develop skills such as independence, self-control, and self-regulation. 

Effects of Authoritative Parenting

Authoritative parenting styles tend to result in happy, capable, and successful children. Studies also show that these children often have higher levels of life satisfaction when they get older.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parents , sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, make very few demands of their children. These parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control.​

Other common characteristics of permissive parenting are:

• Permissive parents prioritize being their child's friend rather than being a parent.
• They are warm and attentive but tend to set few rules, rarely enforce rules, and have few expectations.
• They allow their children to make their own decisions. 

According to Baumrind, permissive parents are responsive to their children but not demanding. Because they do not expect mature behavior from their children, kids may struggle to set limits for themselves.

Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than a parent. On the positive side, this can help kids become more self-sufficient and independent. On the downside, it can contribute to poor self-regulation .

Effects of Permissive Parenting

Permissive parenting often results in children who rank low in happiness and self-regulation. These children are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors and tend to perform poorly in school.

Uninvolved Parenting

In addition to the three major styles introduced by Baumrind, psychologists Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin proposed a fourth style: uninvolved or neglectful parenting. An uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness, and very little communication.

Other characteristics of the uninvolved parenting style include:

• While these parents fulfill the child's basic needs, they are generally detached from their child's life.
• They might ensure that their kids are fed and have shelter but offer little to nothing in the way of guidance, structure, rules, or even support.
• These parents may seem indifferent, unresponsive, and dismissive.
• In some cases, these parents may reject or neglect the needs of their children. They may also be physically or emotionally abusive .

A 2019 study found that children raised by neglectful parents tend to struggle in school, experience more depression, have worse social relationships, have difficulty controlling their emotions, and experience more anxiety.

Effects of Uninvolved Parenting

Uninvolved parenting styles rank lowest across all life domains. These children tend to lack self-control , have higher rates of delinquency, and poorer self-reliance.

What's Your Parenting Style?

This fast and free parenting style quiz can help you analyze the methods you're using to parent your kids and whether or not it may be a good idea to learn some new parenting behaviors:

The Impact of Parenting Styles

Research suggests that parenting styles can have a range of effects on children. Some areas of a child's life that may be affected, whether in the present or the future, include:

• Academics : Parenting styles can play a part in academic achievement and motivation.
• Mental health : Parenting styles can also influence children's mental well-being . Kids raised by authoritarian, permissive, or uninvolved parents tend to experience more anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
• Self-esteem : Kids raised by parents with an authoritative style tend to have stronger self-esteem than kids raised by parents with other styles.
• Social relationships : Parenting styles can impact how kids relate to other people. For example, kids raised by permissive parents are more likely to be bullied, while kids raised by authoritarian parents are more likely to bully others .
• Adult relationships : Researchers have also found that kids raised by strict, authoritarian parents may be more likely to experience emotional abuse in adult romantic relationships .

Mixing Parenting Styles

The parenting styles of individual parents also combine to create a unique blend in each family. For example, the mother may display an authoritative style, while the father favors a more permissive approach. This can sometimes lead to mixed signals.

To create a cohesive approach to parenting, parents must learn to cooperate and combine their unique parenting styles.

Advantages of Authoritative Parenting

Because authoritative parents are more likely to be viewed as reasonable, fair, and just, their children are more likely to comply with their parents' requests. Also, because these parents provide rules as well as explanations for these rules, children are much more likely to internalize these lessons.

Rather than simply following the rules because they fear punishment (as they might with authoritarian parents), the children of authoritative parents are able to see why the rules exist, understand that they are fair and acceptable, and strive to follow these rules to meet their own internalized sense of what is right and wrong.

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Can You Change Your Parenting Style?

If you notice that you tend to be more authoritarian, permissive, or uninvolved, there are steps you can take to adopt a more authoritative parenting style. Strategies that may help include:

• Listen : Spend time listening to what your child has to say. Let them share their opinions, ideas, and worries with you. 
• Establish rules : Create a clear set of rules for your household and communicate your expectations to your child. In addition to telling your child what the rules are, explain why these rules exist.
• Consider your child's input : Authoritative parents set the rules but are also willing to listen to their child's feelings and consider them when making decisions.
• Be consistent : Enforce rules consistently, but be sure to provide consequences that are fair, proportionate, and educational. 

Developing a more authoritative parenting style takes time. With practice and consistent effort, however, you will find that your approach to parenting gradually shifts to a more supportive, involved approach that can lead to better developmental outcomes.

Limitations of Parenting Style Research

Links between parenting styles and behavior are based on correlational research , which is helpful for finding relationships between variables . However, such research cannot establish definitive cause-and-effect relationships.

While there is evidence that a particular parenting style is linked to a specific pattern of behavior, other variables, such as a child's temperament, can also play a significant role.

Children May Affect Their Parents' Styles

There is also evidence that a child's behavior can impact parenting styles. One study found that when a child misbehaves, a parent's response tends to be more variable. An interpretation of this result is that kids might misbehave not because their parents were too permissive but because parents of difficult or aggressive children gave up on trying to control their kids.

Outcomes Vary

The correlations between parenting styles and behaviors are sometimes weak, so the expected child outcomes do not materialize. For example, parents with authoritative styles may have children who are defiant or engage in delinquent behavior. Parents with permissive styles may also ave self-confident and academically successful children.

Cultural Factors Play a Role

Cultural factors also play a significant role in parenting styles and child outcomes. There isn't a universal style of parenting that is always best. For example, while authoritarian parenting is associated with poorer academic achievement, this effect is less pronounced in Hispanic families.

Final Thoughts

Parenting styles are associated with different child outcomes, and the authoritative style is generally linked to positive behaviors such as strong self-esteem and self-competence. However, other important factors—including culture, children's temperament , children's perceptions of parental treatment, and social influences—also play an important role in children's behavior.

Understanding more about your parenting style can help you explore different approaches to parenting your children. If you notice that you tend to have a more strict, indulgent, or dismissive approach, there are steps that you can take to become more involved and authoritative in how you relate to your children.

Baumrind D. Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior . Genet Psychol Monogr. 1967;75(1):43-88.

Louis JP. The Young Parenting Inventory (YPI-R3), and the Baumrind, Maccoby and Martin parenting model: Finding common ground . Children . 2022;9(2):159. doi:10.3390/children9020159

Arafat Y, Akter H, Islam A, Ali Shah M, Kabir R. Parenting: Types, effects and cultural variation . Asian J Ped Res . 2020;3(3):32-36. doi:10.9734/AJPR/2020/v3i330130

Lavrič M, Naterer A. The power of authoritative parenting: A cross-national study of effects of exposure to different parenting styles on life satisfaction . Child Youth Serv Rev . 2020;116:105274. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105274

Jinnah HA, Stoneman Z. Influence of permissive parenting on youth farm risk behaviors . J Agromed . 2016;21(3):244-252. doi:10.1080/1059924X.2016.1179610

Pinquart M. Associations of parenting styles and dimensions with academic achievement in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis . Ed Psychol Rev . 2016;28:475-493. doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9338-y

Kuppens S, Ceulemans E. Parenting styles: A closer look at a well-known concept .  J Child Fam Stud . 2019;28(1):168-181. doi:10.1007/s10826-018-1242-x

Power TG. Parenting dimensions and styles: a brief history and recommendations for future research .  Child Obes . 2013;9 Suppl(Suppl 1):S14–S21. doi:10.1089/chi.2013.0034

Alizadeh Maralani F, Mirnasab M, Hashemi T. The predictive role of maternal parenting and stress on pupils' bullying involvement .  J Interpers Violence . 2019;34(17):3691-3710. doi:10.1177/0886260516672053

Beyarslan SD, Uzer T. Psychological control and indulgent parenting predict emotional-abuse victimization in romantic relationships . Curr Psychol . 2022;41(8):5532-5545. doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01072-w

Bi X, Yang Y, Li H, Wang M, Zhang W, Deater-deckard K. Parenting styles and parent-adolescent relationships: the mediating roles of behavioral autonomy and parental authority . Front Psychol . 2018;9:2187. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02187

Lunkenheimer E, Lichtwarck-Aschoff A, Hollenstein T, Kemp CJ, Granic I. Breaking down the coercive cycle: How parent and child risk factors influence real-time variability in parental responses to child misbehavior . Parenting . 2016;16(4):237-256. doi:10.1080/15295192.2016.1184925

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Home / Parenting, Kids & Teens / The 4 types of parenting styles: What style is right for you?

The 4 types of parenting styles: What style is right for you?

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A parent’s job is to prepare their children to be adults who are capable of taking care of themselves and overcoming difficulties. It’s not an easy job. Parents have to set appropriate limits, watch their children fail and let them feel the consequences of their actions. Sometimes parents even endure the harsh screams of “I hate you!” or other painful words.

“I tell parents that it’s OK for your kids to be mad at you and not like you because of the limit you set,” said Hannah L. Mulholland, LICSW, MSW, a Mayo Clinic pediatric social worker. “You’re the best person in the world for them not to like and be mad at because you’re the one person who’s not going to desert them. You’re still going to love them, even when they’re mad at you. But for many parents, the reason they don’t set limits is because they want to be liked.”

Parenting is about supporting children while they make their own mistakes, take on age-appropriate responsibilities, think for themselves and solve their own problems. How you do that is up to you.

For example, you can let your kids choose how and when to do their homework — but also let them know that if they don’t do it, there may be consequences at school. “Let your kid be distressed. Let your kid make mistakes,” Mulholland says. “That’s how they learn.”

Kids who don’t learn might enter the adult world woefully unprepared or even afraid because they don’t know how to have relationships, do their laundry or manage their money. “They get in over their heads because they don’t really know what their own capacity is,” Mulholland says.

4 parenting styles

There are four main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and neglectful. You don’t have to commit to one style. It’s natural to use different styles in different situations. When safety is at stake, a parent might use a firm authoritarian style that leaves no room for negotiation. But a parent might put consequences on hold and lean into a permissive approach to encourage a teenager to call for help if they put themselves in a dangerous situation.

“As parents, we are all doing the best we can each day,” Mulholland says. “Our intentions are always good, but we struggle to execute depending on our own capacity in the moment. Give yourself a break as a parent and recognize your own limits. All of the advice in this article is for when you are your very best self, not necessarily something you can implement all the time.”

Here’s a look at each of the four styles.

Authoritative parenting style

Authoritative parenting is often considered the ideal style for its combination of warmth and flexibility while still making it clear that the parents are in charge. (3) Children of authoritative parents know what is expected of them. Their parents explain reasons for the rules and consequences for breaking them. Parents also listen to their child’s opinions, but the parent remains the ultimate decision maker.

Authoritative parents develop close, nurturing relationships with their children. Children with authoritative parents tend to grow up confident, responsible and capable of managing their emotions. They are also friendly, curious and achievement-oriented.

What is an example of authoritative parenting style?

One place where parenting style shows is at mealtimes. Authoritative parents have more family meals where the parents model eating behaviors — rather than imposing strict restrictions. The parents will include the children in meal preparation. Perhaps the child will choose what’s for dinner one night a week or choose the side dish. Research shows that children of authoritative mothers have a high quality of diet and eat more fruit than children from different parenting styles.

Permissive parenting style

Permissive parents might pride themselves on being their child’s best friend. These parents are warm and nurturing with open communication. They are actively involved in their children’s emotional well-being. They also have low expectations and use discipline sparingly. Permissive parents let children make their own choices, but also bail them out if it doesn’t go well.

Children of permissive parents have the freedom to make decisions like what to eat, when to go to bed and whether to do their homework. These children tend to have good self-esteem and social skills. But they can be impulsive, demanding and lack the ability to self-regulate. (1) Permissive parents often try to control their child’s environment, so the child doesn’t have to experience rejection or failure. This means the child might enter adulthood unprepared.

What is an example of permissive parenting style?

When it comes to food, permissive parents might have lax rules. They allow the children to choose what they want, even if that means the parents make a special meal. This could lead to picky eating and unhealthy diet choices. Permissive parenting is associated with lower fruit and vegetable intake. It may also result in inexperience in trying new things or going with the flow and difficulty in social settings involving food.

Authoritarian parenting style

Authoritarian parenting uses strict rules, high standards and punishment to regulate the child’s behavior. Authoritarian parents have high expectations and are not flexible on them. The children might not even know a rule is in place until they’re punished for breaking it.

Children of authoritarian parents are good at following instructions and behave well. However, these children might grow up with a fear of punishment and lack experience making their own decisions. As a result, some might become aggressively rebellious, lack social skills and may have difficulty making sound decisions on their own.

What is an example of authoritarian parenting style? 

At mealtimes, authoritarian parents might enforce rules, such as the children eat the same meal as everyone else or finish everything on their plate. However, the family is unlikely to discuss why they eat certain foods and how they fit into their culture or affect a child’s health.

Neglectful parenting style

Neglectful parents fulfill the child’s basic needs, but then pay little attention to the child. These parents tend to offer minimal nurturing and have few expectations or limitations for their child. It’s not always a conscious choice parents make, but can be forced by circumstance, such as the need to work late shifts, single parenting, mental health concerns or overall family troubles.

Children of neglectful parents usually grow up to be resilient and self-sufficient out of necessity. They might have trouble controlling emotions, don’t develop effective coping strategies and they have difficulty maintaining social relationships. They tend to have low self-esteem and might seek out inappropriate role models.

What is an example of neglectful parenting style?

Parents who are uninvolved might not buy groceries or plan meals consistently. That could leave the child concerned about when they will next eat. It can lead them to become preoccupied with food. Children who had neglectful parents often overeat when food is available and may become overweight. But these children often have an easier time leaving home when it’s time.

How do I make sure I don’t mess up my child?

There’s no parenting style that is guaranteed to produce perfectly adjusted children. Nobody’s child is going to go through life universally liked and immune to failure or disappointment. Mulholland says everyone experiences difficulties. “It’s just unrealistic to say that a parenting decision is the reason for that.”

Since children will inevitably go through difficult moments, it’s best to equip them with the ability to bounce back. It helps if kids have had some practice from being allowed to try and fail in a safe environment.

For example, if a child played video games instead of studying, they might do poorly on the test. That’s how they learn that they need to manage their time better. But if you let them stay home “sick” to get an extra day to study, they won’t have learned a lesson.

A lot of parents see their child’s successes or failures as a reflection of themselves as a parent. But it’s the parent’s job to give the child the tools they need, not to control the situation.

“I’m always reminding parents that those aren’t your grades,” Mulholland says. “That’s not your college that they end up going to. That’s on them. You shouldn’t measure your worth as a parent on how successful your children are.”

How can parents change their parenting style?

If you find that your child is having some behavior issues, you might decide you need to adjust your parenting style. Behavior change can be as difficult for parents as it is for kids.

Mulholland recommends thinking back to your own childhood and what worked for you and what didn’t. Some people had parents who were very strict. The child wasn’t allowed to talk at the table and was punished severely. As a result, when they became a parent, they went the other way and became permissive. But perhaps a middle ground would work better. As you reflect on your own parenting, think about why you react the way you do.

If you want to change your parenting style, look into parenting workshops. Many schools or early childhood centers offer classes or can refer you to one. Mulholland also recommends the book, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk . A mental health therapist can also help you work through issues from your own childhood and find a parenting approach that will work for your family.

Which parenting style is most encouraged?

Authoritative parenting is the most recommended parenting style . The combination of clear communication and age-appropriate standards can lead to emotionally stable adults who can handle themselves in social situations and set goals for themselves.

To take an authoritative approach, parents can:

• Set clear boundaries and communicate them to children.
• Offer children choices and have discussions about what’s appropriate. For example, you can choose which pajamas you want to wear to bed. You cannot wear your winter coat to bed because it will be too warm.
• Listen to and explore their children’s emotional health concerns.
• Frequently express love and affection.

A helpful approach can be to use praise and positive reinforcement to encourage desired behavior. Ignore annoying, but not dangerous, attempts at getting attention, such as banging on a wall or whining. You also can tell children, “I’ll wait and respond to you when you stop whining.”

Another approach is to reward children with something they want. For example, instead of taking away their tablet until they do their homework, use it as a reward. “I’m going to give you your tablet as soon as you’re done with your homework.” That way the tablet is a reinforcer instead of a consequence.

How to set limits for children

A big part of parenting is setting rules and limits for your children. A metaphor from Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D. , suggests thinking of parenting like enclosing a pasture for your sheep. You build a fence and put things the sheep need in the pasture — plus some fun things to play with. Then let the sheep roam around within their limits.

“You don’t tell the sheep ‘You need to only be in this corner.’ Or ‘You need to only eat that type of flower,'” Mulholland explains. “They’re likely to run into the good flowers and eat the good stuff. But you’re also going to have the fence around them. So there’s a limit as to how far they can go.”

The same with children. As the parents, you set the limits and provide children with food to eat and toys to play with. As the children show they’re being responsible and can handle more, you can expand their boundaries.

Setting limits together

As much as you can, decide with your child what your limits are ahead of time. For example, before the start of a new school year, decide on your limits for weekday screen time, after-school snacks or homework rules.

If you’re trying to make rules on the fly, you’re more likely to be inconsistent from day to day. If you decide that the kids get 90 minutes of screen time on a school night, then you can always hold to that, and the kids know what to expect.

If you have a spouse or co-parent, discuss limits together. It’s common for two parents to have different ideas of what’s appropriate, so it’s helpful to set the boundaries together. And whether you live in the same house or not, try to maintain the same basic limits.

“The most important thing is — in front of the child — you 100% have your partner’s back, even if you disagree wholeheartedly with how they approached it. In front of the child, you have to have their back,” Mulholland says. “In the moment you say, ‘Yep. Dad said eat your broccoli. ‘” If you would have done things differently, talk to your partner about it away from the kids.

Your relationship with a grown child

Parenting style also plays a role in the relationship between parents and their children when they become adults. Kids who had strict, inflexible parents might not have a close relationship as adults. Kids of permissive parents might come back for help frequently when they are in a bind. Kids who grew up with encouraging, supportive parents tend to have close relationships with their parents. They will be independent, but still go to their parents for advice.

“The best-case scenario is they’re still keeping you involved in their life,” Mulholland says. “They’re telling you about the hardships and maybe even seeking advice, but they’re also not expecting you to fix everything.”

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What Is Your Parenting Style, and Why Does It Matter?

From authoritarian to authoritative, permissive to neglectful, we're breaking down different types of parenting styles. Which one do you practice? 

Authoritarian Parenting

Permissive parenting, authoritative parenting, neglectful or uninvolved parenting, sub-types of parenting styles.

Your parenting style can affect everything from your child's self-esteem to their academic success. It's important to ensure your parenting style supports healthy growth and development because the way you interact with your child—and how you discipline them— will influence them for the rest of their life. 

Researchers have identified four main types of parenting styles that take a unique approach to raising children:

• Authoritarian
• Authoritative

People often want to know which parenting style they're using, and which one is the best overall. The truth is that there's no one right way to parent, but the general parenting style that most experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recommend is an authoritative approach.

Read on to learn the difference between these four major parenting styles (there are also newer parenting styles that have gained traction, including free-range and conscious parenting ), with information about popular subtypes like helicopter parenting, free-range parenting, tiger parenting, and more.

Baumrind's Four Parenting Styles

In the 1960s, developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind described three distinct parenting styles—authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive—based on parental demands and responsiveness to children. A fourth style, neglectful, was added later based on work by other researchers.

Do any of these statements sound like you?

• You believe kids should be seen and not heard.
• When it comes to rules, you believe it's "my way or the highway."
• You don't take your child's feelings into consideration.
• You've uttered the words "because I said so" when a child questions the reasons behind a rule.

If any of those ring true, you might be an authoritarian parent. The authoritarian style of parenting focuses on strict rules, obedience, and discipline. These parents have high expectations, and they don't hesitate to punish when children don't follow their guidelines.

Authoritarian parents take over the decision-making power, rarely giving children any input in the matter. Similar to an army drill sergeant, authoritarian parents are not nurturing, lenient, or communicable. They make the rules and enforce the consequences with little regard for a child's opinion.

How authoritarian parenting affects children

When raised by an authoritarian parent, children are often well-behaved at home, but they may rebel when with classmates or friends. Kids may also struggle with the following:

• Social skills
• Indecisiveness and trouble thinking on their own
• Low self-esteem
• Poor judge of character
• Anger management and resentfulness
• Hostility and aggression

Some research also indicates that children whose parents were authoritarian reported more substance use and higher instances of depression.

• You set rules but rarely enforce them.
• You don't give out consequences very often.
• You think your child will learn best with little interference from you.
• You let your children do what they want—even if it's drinking soda at every meal.

If those statements sound familiar, you might practice permissive parenting . Permissive parents are lenient, only stepping in when there's a serious problem. They're quite forgiving and they adopt an attitude of "kids will be kids." Oftentimes they act more like friends than authoritative figures.

Permissive parents cater to their children's needs without giving out much discipline . When they do use consequences, they may not stick. For example, they'll give privileges back if a child begs, or they may allow a child to get out of time-out early if they promise to be good. Permissive parents are the total opposite of strict.

How permissive parenting affects children

Since they have a high standing in the household, children of permissive parents are accustomed to getting whatever they want. They may exhibit more behavioral problems as they don't appreciate authority and rules.

Other downsides of the permissive parenting style can include:

• Lack of responsibility
• Difficulty with decision-making
• Impulsiveness and aggressiveness
• Lack of independence and personal responsibility
• Anxiety and depression
• Academic struggles

Kids who are parented permissively often act entitled, egocentric, and selfish. These children might also fail to put effort into school, work, or social endeavors since they don't have to put in any effort at home.

Additionally, kids raised by permissive parents are at a higher risk for health problems, like obesity , because permissive parents struggle to limit unhealthy food intake or promote regular exercise or healthy sleep habits. They're more likely to have dental cavities because permissive parents often don't enforce good habits, like ensuring a child brushes their teeth.

The "Gold Standard" Parenting Style

Experts consider authoritative parenting to be the most developmentally healthy and effective parenting style. Research has found kids who have authoritative parents are most likely to become confident, responsible adults who feel comfortable self-advocating and expressing their opinions and feelings.

• You put a lot of effort into creating and maintaining a positive relationship with your child.
• You explain the reasons behind your rules.
• You set limits, enforce rules, and give consequences, but also consider your child's feelings. 
• You use positive discipline strategies such as praise and rewards.

If those statements sound familiar, you might practice authoritative parenting , which is considered to be the "gold standard" parenting style. Authoritative parents provide their children with rules and boundaries, but they also give them the freedom to make decisions.

With an authoritative parenting style, parents validate their children's feelings while also making it clear that the adults are ultimately in charge. They invest time and energy into preventing behavior problems before they start. They also use positive discipline strategies , like praise and reward systems, to reinforce positive behavior.

Authoritative parents view mistakes as a learning experience, and they have clear expectations for their children. They're nurturing and warm, yet they instill the importance of responsibility and discipline.

How authoritative parenting affects children

Children raised with authoritative parenting tend to be happy, confident, and successful. They're also more likely to make sound decisions and evaluate safety risks on their own. Authoritative parenting is linked to academic achievement, heightened self-esteem, and resiliency.

Kids with authoritative parents tend to have the following positive outcomes:

• Close, nurturing relationships with parents
• Tendency to be responsible and respectful
• Ability to manage their aggression
• High degrees of self-esteem, self-confidence , and self-regulation
• More likely to be happy and successful
• Ability to clearly express their emotions

Kids who are parented authoritatively can be trusted to make the right decision on their own, and they often set high expectations for themselves. These children may also perform well academically and socially, and they're less likely to misuse drugs or alcohol.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

• You don't ask your child about school or homework.
• You rarely know where your child is or who they're with.
• You don't spend much time with your child.
• You don't have many rules and expectations.

If those statements sound familiar, you might be an uninvolved or neglectful parent. Essentially, neglectful parents ignore their children, who receive little guidance, nurturing, and parental attention. They don't set rules or expectations, and they tend to have minimal knowledge about what their children are doing.

Uninvolved parents expect children to raise themselves. They don't devote much time or energy to meeting children's basic needs. At times, uninvolved parents lack knowledge about child development—or they may believe that their child will do better without their oversight.

Uninvolved parents may be neglectful but it's not always intentional. A parent with mental health issues or substance abuse problems, for example, may not be able to care for a child's physical or emotional needs consistently.

How uninvolved parenting affects children

Without any guidance, structure, or parental involvement, children of neglectful parents often act out. Research has found that kids with uninvolved parents have the worst outcomes, and they're more likely to experience the following:

• Substance use
• Rebelliousness
• Delinquency (vandalism, assault, rape, petty theft)
• Lower cognitive and emotional empathy
• Diminished self-esteem

Children of uninvolved parents might, for example, get in trouble at school or with the law. In addition, they might hesitate to form bonds with other people and exhibit depression. Academic performance and social competence often suffer.

Getty Images / Shaw Photography Co.

Of course, there are plenty of parenting style subtypes, including the following

Free-range parenting

Helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting, lighthouse parenting, attachment parenting, tiger parenting.

Free-range parents give their children the independence of being less supervised or unsupervised in public. For a long time, parents who practiced this style were considered neglectful, and many thought they endangered their kids.

But more recently (and after much debate) states like Utah passed laws in favor of the hands-off parenting style. Specifically, Utah changed the definition of neglect so it doesn't include certain independent childhood activities like walking to school and playing outside. Proponents say it can instill amazing qualities like self-sufficiency and resilience.

If you're an overprotective parent who feels the need to control most aspects of your child's life, you likely fit the bill of a helicopter parent . Helicopter parents constantly intervene in their kid's life, and they obsess about successes and failures.

The risk-assessing tendencies of helicopter parents are often driven by fear and anxiety. Parents who intervene in this way can hinder a child's ability to learn integral life skills, confidence, and self-sufficiency. Research by the American Psychological Association found that kids who experience helicopter parenting are less likely to be able to manage their emotions and behavior.

Snowplow parents (also known as lawnmower or bulldozer parents) are willing to drop everything to fulfill their child's wants and demands, no matter how small. They essentially "plow down" anything standing in their child's way.

These types of parents often have good intentions and don't want their children to experience struggle. However, their habits don't provide a foundation for long-term happiness, and they can worsen a child's anxiety about failure. An extreme example of snowplow parenting involves the college admissions scandal , where numerous high-profile celebrity parents were convicted of bribing colleges to admit their children.

One of the more balanced methods of parenting, the lighthouse approach was coined by pediatrician and author Kenneth Ginsburg, MD. In his book, Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust, Dr. Ginsburg writes: "We should be like lighthouses for our children. Stable beacons of light on the shoreline from which they can measure themselves against."

The lighthouse parenting style involves finding the perfect balance between loving, protecting, communicating, and nurturing your child. Parents seek to guide and support their children, much like a lighthouse does.

Attachment parenting involves a nurturing and hands-on approach. These parents think that putting a child's needs first leads to independence and emotional stability. Parents who follow this style value physical closeness, bed-sharing and co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding , positive discipline, and other attachment-based approaches to raising children.

A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found an association between sensitive-responsive parenting and children’s language skills. Specifically, kids of parents with higher levels of responsiveness and warmth had more than two times better language skills than children whose parents were less responsive. On the other hand, this parenting style is demanding and can sometimes feel out of balance when parents are less flexible in their approach.

Often displaying rigid and harsh characteristics, tiger parents expect obedience and success. This term gained mainstream attention due to Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom , where she describes tiger parenting as an authoritarian method commonly used in Chinese culture.

Some research has found a correlation between tiger parenting and anxiety in children , possibly due to their parent's high demands and constant expectations for perfection.

Additional reporting by Amy Morin, LCSW  

Parenting and Boundary Setting: Pediatric Mental Health Minute Series . American Academy of Pediatrics .

Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept .  J Child Fam Stud. 2019.

Psychosocial consequences of parenting .  IOSR J Hum Soc Sci . 2016.

Types of Parenting Styles and Effects On Children .  StatPearls  [Internet]. Updated 2022.

Role of parenting styles in adolescent substance use: results from a Swedish longitudinal cohort study . BMJ Open.  2016.

Authoritarian parenting and youth depression: Results from a national study .  Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community.  2016.

Role of Parenting Style in Children’s Behavioral Problems through the Transition from Preschool to Elementary School According to Gender in Japan . Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health . 2019.

Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept .  J Child Fam Stud . 2019.

Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes .  Societies . 2014.

Psychosocial Consequences of Parenting . IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science . 2016.

Helicopter Parenting May Negatively Affect Children’s Emotional Well-Being, Behavior . American Psychological Association . 2018.

Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme . United States Attorney's Office . Updated 2023.

Parenting Behavior and Child Language: A Meta-analysis . American Academy of Pediatrics . 2019.

The moderating effects of positive psychological strengths on the relationship between tiger parenting and child anxiety . Children and Youth Services Review . 2018.

Related Articles

Parenting Styles

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

It is a stereotype that, in therapy, all of a person’s problems will be blamed on their parents. That is not the case. But decades of psychological research have suggested that the approach to parenting generally followed by an individual’s mother and/or father can influence the way they approach relationships, challenges, and opportunities. That doesn’t mean that an adult can’t change, of course, especially once they understand what may be influencing their behavior. And parents who become aware of the pitfalls of their own style and how it may affect their kids can also change.

For more on dysfunctional parenting, click here .

On This Page

• What are the four major parenting styles?
• How can a parent’s style predict a child’s future relationships?
• How can mothers and fathers tell what their parenting style is?
• How can parents become more authoritative?
• What is supportive parenting?
• What is attachment parenting?
• How can mothers and fathers transition away from attachment parenting?

Research begun by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind in the 1960s identified three main parenting styles —authoritarian, indulgent, and authoritative. Later studies added a fourth—neglectful. Every parent does not neatly fit into one of these four categories but they describe the approaches of many.

• An authoritarian parent seeks to maintain a high level of control over their children. They may set and adhere to a strict set of rules, and are more likely to support and take part in corporal punishment such as spanking. Children of highly authoritarian parents may struggle socially and may be likely to become authoritarian parents themselves.
• Neglectful parents (also known as uninvolved or disengaged) take on a limited parenting role. They may not spend as much time as other parents in conversation, play, or other activities, and may not bother to set many house rules. Some children of neglectful parents may resist rules outside of the home and struggle with self-control.
• Indulgent (or permissive) parents may be attentive and warm, but may not set many rules for their children. They may prioritize being their child’s friend over being their parent. Research suggests that the children of permissive parents may show higher levels of creativity but may also feel entitled, and be more interested in taking rather than giving in their own relationships.
• Authoritative parents follow what is widely understood as the preferred approach. Such parents are more pragmatic and flexible. They set clear boundaries but also encourage children’s independence within those limits. Discipline in such families may be more supportive than punitive, and as children get older, their independence increases. Children of authoritative parents may have more highly developed self-control and self-reliance.

Recent research suggests that, in some families, a parent’s style, especially as it relates to maintaining control over their children, could leave their kids vulnerable to emotional abuse from future partners, employers, and and others. Researchers found that people raised with a parent who maintained strict psychological control over them grew to be especially vulnerable to emotionally abusive partners. The effect appeared to be offset, though, by experiencing emotional warmth from the other parent. Research continues to explore the effect of differing parenting styles in the same family, and whether it matters if a mother or father is the authoritarian.

Much research of parenting styles has examined how the styles affect children as they grow up, and how negative effects could be tempered. But other studies have focused on helping parents become more self-aware and change their styles to develop healthier relationships with their kids . Some researchers have developed analytical scales in which parents indicate how they would respond to certain scenarios with an eye toward helping them shift, perhaps through therapy, to a more moderate approach.

In practical terms, most parents do not think of themselves as authoritarian, authoritative, or otherwise, and many mothers and fathers are self-aware enough to know that they may not be consistent with their kids at all times. Experts suggest that attention to some general guidelines can help parents develop a healthier style—for example, being consciously warm and loving toward children, setting age-appropriate limits, actively listening to children’s concerns, gently but firmly asking to be treated with respect, and “catching” kids being good , while making sure they know they’ve been seen and acknowledged.

Supportive parenting describes an approach to authoritative parenting in which mothers and fathers are conscious of how often they say no to children (as they often must, especially when kids are young) so that they can seek more opportunities to say yes to them in encouraging ways that help kids develop confidence and self-esteem. When children are mostly told what they cannot do, they can feel rejected by a parent, even a well-meaning one, with potentially negative emotional outcomes. Being consciously supportive and selfless with children can help them internalize belief in themselves.

Attachment parenting , a term coined by pediatrician William Sears, describes an approach to parenting in which mothers and fathers are physically and emotionally close to their children, especially at an early age, and is characterized in practice by extended periods of breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Sears referred to it as “what mothers and fathers would do instinctively if they were raising their baby on a desert island.” There is little evidence, however, that this approach leads to more positive psychological outcomes for children and many experts reject attachment parenting as unnecessarily demanding of parents and potentially creating conflict and division between new parents.

Parents who commit themselves to attachment parenting and have the time and temperament to maintain the approach throughout early childhood may then be faced with the challenge of weaning their children from the approach. These mothers and fathers may need to consciously practice “ detachment parenting ” so that children entering early adolescence can develop independence and healthy friendships, while resisting feeling rejected themselves as kids begin to resist a parent’s efforts to hold onto their previous level of connection.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Parenting Styles — Parenting Styles and How They May Affect A Child’s Development

Parenting Styles and How They May Affect a Child's Development

• Categories: Parenting Styles

About this sample

Words: 1544 |

Published: Jul 17, 2018

Words: 1544 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

How this effects a child’s life, works cited.

• Baumrind, D. (1966). Effects of authoritative parental control on child behavior. Child Development, 37(4), 887-907.
• Baumrind, D. (1967). Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 75(1), 43-88.
• Boskic, M. (2010). Parenting styles and social skills development in early childhood. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 12(2).
• Chan, S. M., & Koo, A. (2010). Parenting style and youth outcomes in the UK. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7(3), 352-371.
• Combs, M. D., & Landsverk, J. (1988). Parenting styles and adolescent behavior. Journal of Adolescent Research, 3(1), 3-20.
• Kordi, M., & Baharudin, R. (2010). Parenting styles and interpersonal relationship among adolescents. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 1860-1864.
• Park, J. Y., Kim, H., Chiang, Y. C., & M. Ju, S. (2010). Authoritarian parenting and youth emotional adjustment: Mediating roles of sense of inadequacy and ego-resiliency. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(12), 1408-1420.
• Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., & Beyers, W. (2007). Conceptualizing parental autonomy support: Adolescent perceptions of promotion of independence versus promotion of volitional functioning. Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 633-646.
• Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S. D., Dornbusch, S. M., & Darling, N. (1992). Impact of parenting practices on adolescent achievement: Authoritative parenting, school involvement, and encouragement to succeed. Child Development, 63(5), 1266-1281.
• Volling, B. L., McElwain, N. L., Notaro, P. C., & Herrera, C. (2002). Parents' emotional availability and infant emotional competence: Predictors of parent-infant attachment and emerging self-regulation. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(4), 447-465.

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Parenting styles, 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.

Children raised with this style tend to be friendly, energetic, cheerful, self-reliant, self-controlled, curious, cooperative and achievement-oriented.

In this parenting style, parents are warm, but lax. They fail to set firm limits, to monitor children's activities closely or to require appropriately mature behavior of their children.

Children raised with this parenting style tend to be impulsive, rebellious, aimless, domineering, aggressive and low in self-reliance, self-control and achievement.

Uninvolved 

In this parenting style, parents are unresponsive, unavailable and rejecting.

Children raised with this parenting style tend to have low self-esteem and little self-confidence and seek other, sometimes inappropriate, role models to substitute for the neglectful parent.

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Exploring Parenting Styles Patterns and Children’s Socio-Emotional Skills

Aikaterini vasiou.

1 Department of Primary Education, University of Crete, 74100 Rethymno, Greece

Wassilis Kassis

2 Department of Research & Development, School of Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; [email protected] (W.K.); [email protected] (D.A.); [email protected] (C.A.F.)

Anastasia Krasanaki

3 School of Humanities, Hellenic Open University, 26335 Patras, Greece; moc.liamtoh@ikanasarka

Dilan Aksoy

Céline anne favre, spyridon tantaros.

4 Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece; rg.aou.hcysp@natgs

Associated Data

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

In this study, we adopted parenting styles as a multidimensional and latent construct that includes different aspects of parenting, rather than solely focusing on a single parenting style. In a Web-based survey with 1203 Greek parents, we identified parenting styles and their SDQ reports on their children. According to our results by Latent Profile Analysis, we must use a more complex approach concerning parenting styles. We identified a “Highly Authoritative style” profile with high levels of authoritative, low levels of authoritarian and middle levels of permissive parenting styles. We additionally identified a profile called “Relaxed Authoritative style”, with still high but lower levels of authoritative style, low but slightly heightened levels of authoritarian style, and middle levels of permissive style. A further profile, named “Permissive Focused Authoritative style”, had a mix of high levels of authoritative, moderate levels of permissive, and elevated levels of authoritarian parenting styles. Finally, in a profile named “Inconsistent Parenting style”, we identified parents with a blend of still high, but the lowest of all four levels of authoritative and highest levels of permissive and authoritarian parenting styles. When combining the four identified parenting patterns with the SDQ results, we identified the “highly authoritative parenting style” profile to be the least connected to internalizing or externalizing problems of the respective children.

1. Introduction

Bronfenbrenner’s socioecological framework [ 1 ], understanding development as a social process, as a result of the interaction between people and their environment, suggests that, among the proximal (microsystem) socialization agents, parents play the most pivotal role in children’s development [ 2 ]. As such, researchers have conducted numerous empirical investigations which focused on isolating the contribution of parenting styles to children’s and adolescents’ behavior, such as externalizing and internalizing problems and prosocial behavior [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Nevertheless, most studies have adopted variable-centric perspectives to explore the overall strength of associations between the examined variables in a larger population. Additionally, this approach primarily used single parenting styles, such as authoritarian, permissive, or authoritative, to understand the effects of particular parental behavior. This led to the understanding that parents apply a specific and characteristic style. Nevertheless, the use of analytical techniques, such as latent profile analysis, focused on people characteristics, often intervenes with the possibility of developing a fully realized understanding of the predictors and outcomes of within-subject variation in parenting styles [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Consequently, the present study is conducted to identify unique parenting style profiles and considers parenting styles as a multidimensional and latent construct that includes different aspects of parenting, not just a single one. Using latent profile analysis and exploring the possible relationship between the identified profiles and children’s and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problems and prosocial behavior, we attempt to develop a more complex and adequate picture of parenting styles and their effects on children’s behavior.

1.1. Parenting Styles

Parenting style is a collection of parents’ attitudes, behaviors, and emotions [ 9 ]. Therefore, we can conceptualize parenting styles as representing general types of child-rearing that characterize parents’ typical strategies and responses [ 10 ]. In particular, parental behavior is established in four specific behavioral dimensions: control, maturity demands, clarity of communication, and nurturance [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Baumrind [ 15 , 16 ], resulting from a blending of these dimensions and not from any single one of them, identified three primary parenting styles: Authoritarian (high levels of control and maturity demands, and low levels of nurturance and clarity of communication), Permissive (high levels of nurturance and clarity of communication, and low levels of control and maturity demand) and Authoritative (control, nurturance, clarity of communication, and maturity demands).

The behavior of authoritarian parents, which is not characterized by parental responsiveness and emotional availability, but by parental control, leads to limiting the independence of the children, valuing blind obedience, as well as adopting aggressive one-way communication [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. In contrast to the authoritarian parenting style, permissive parents encourage responsiveness in the absence of parental control and maturity requirements as well as clear, consistent discipline and communication [ 17 , 19 , 20 ]. Permissive parenting style includes loose or contradictory discipline, indifference to the child’s disobedience, and lack of confidence regarding the parental role [ 18 ]. Permissive parents rarely punish, encourage independence, and offer unconditional support to their children [ 17 , 19 ]. On the other hand, authoritative parents emphasize responsiveness and control. They avoid, however, interacting with their children by being intrusive, criticizing, scolding, and threatening, as authoritarian parents are wont to do [ 17 , 21 ]. In addition, they try to understand the needs of their children. They behave warmly, lovingly, and dialogically. They also provide guidance and direction through suggestions, explanations, and argumentation. In addition, they set developmentally appropriate expectations while demonstrating receptivity and flexibility by offering children opportunities to practice independence and autonomy [ 17 , 22 , 23 ].

1.2. Children’s Behavior Problems

Empirically formulated classifications of child behavior have distinguished social-emotional and behavior problems as externalizing and internalizing [ 24 ]. Externalizing problem behaviors are considered aggressive and dysfunctional conducts aimed at others, while internalizing problem behaviors refer to negative emotions and moods such as depression, anxiety, and guilt [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Both aspects of dysfunction are related to impaired academic, social, and emotional development in children, such as the risk of several poor outcomes, including poor peer relationships, underachievement at school, poor personal adjustment, and poor mental health [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].

In detail, externalizing problems include the most common childhood disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in which a wide range of cognitive, interpersonal, social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties exist. Its main characteristics are aggression and disobedience, while other Disruptive Behavioral Disorders often coexist [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. In addition, externalizing problems include conduct problems and behavioral disorders, in which the child comes into conflict with the environment, such as aggression, violence, reactivity, disobedience, drug use, and delinquency, problems which are observed when there is a lack of parental support [ 18 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Parental supervision, parental care, and normative parental expectations constitute the three dimensions of parenting that are systematically related to multiple behavioral problems in children and adolescents [ 38 ]. Research found associations between extreme types of control (harsh parenting, physical punishment, psychological control, overprotection, overactive parenting) or lack of control and supervision, and a strong presence of externalizing problems, such as conduct problems [ 33 , 39 ]. It is further considered that ineffective parenting (corporal punishment, inconsistency, poor supervision, and low involvement) and specific personal characteristics, such as sentimentality, also lead to externalizing problems [ 40 ]. Especially for girls, the lack of parental support is an essential factor in developing behavioral problems [ 41 ]. Moreover, the manifestation of externalizing problems leads to peer victimization and vice versa [ 42 ].

Conversely, problems related to depression, anxiety, shyness, irritability, withdrawal, low self-esteem, poor physical health, negative relationships with peers and emotional problems are recognized as internalizing problems [ 18 , 36 , 37 , 43 ], which possibly stem from early experiences of rejection [ 23 ]. Regarding peer relationships, research shows that children without close friends have internalizing problems, while peer rejection and victimization are associated with internalizing and externalizing problems [ 44 ]. The lack of parental supervision regarding their friends is associated with internalizing problems in girls. In contrast, the lack of parental supervision during free time is associated with internalizing problems for both sexes [ 43 ].

1.3. Children’s Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial behavior is the critical component in development that contributes to positive children’s and adolescents’ development and thriving [ 45 ]. Recent decades’ research has shown associations between prosocial behavior and social, emotional, and psychological benefits in children and adolescents, including better relationships with peers and adults [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], optimal functioning in terms of well-being [ 51 ], academic success [ 47 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], and positive mental health [ 57 , 58 ].

Prosocial behavior refers to all voluntary behaviors aimed to benefit others [ 57 ]. They are positive social acts that promote the well-being of others and self-motivated behaviors that benefit others, demonstrating the existence of social conscience [ 22 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. Some manifestations of positive social behavior can be caring, comforting, sharing, cooperating, volunteering, donating, and offering physical or emotional help to others [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. The demonstration of prosocial behavior by children and adolescents, however, is influenced by factors such as parents, peers, school, teachers, and culture [ 22 , 62 ].

1.4. Parenting Styles and Children’s Behavior

For many years, parenting style’s role in children’s and adolescents’ problem behavior was the main focus of research [ 63 , 64 ]. In particular, studies have examined the role of parenting styles in internalizing and externalizing problem behavior [ 65 ], both during childhood [ 66 , 67 ] and adolescence [ 68 , 69 ]. Prior studies also proposed that parenting styles are associated with adolescents’ prosocial behavior [ 70 , 71 ]. Specifically, warm and supportive parenting reinforces self-regulatory abilities, strengthens prosocial behavior and moral values, and enhances adolescents’ acceptance of others’ needs [ 72 , 73 ].

Regarding the influence of parental factors on children’s social behavior, it is considered that the mother–child relationship and parenting practices play an important role in children’s overall development and the development of externalizing and internalizing problems specifically, regardless of gender, during early adolescence [ 74 , 75 ]. Some research suggests that parental support may predict a reduction in adolescent anxiety and depression in addition to preventing future depressive behavior [ 76 , 77 ], whereas parental support also appears to influence the development of prosocial behavior in children and adolescents [ 78 , 79 ].

Regarding the authoritative parenting style, its high responsiveness and demandingness have been scientifically associated with fewer behavioral problems [ 36 ]. In particular, authoritative parents promote the development of social and academic skills during childhood and adolescence [ 80 ]. The authoritative parenting style also has associations with less disobedience, reduced tendency to internalize problems and dangerous behaviors, high ability to regulate behavior, increased self-perception for acceptance by peers, and better adjustment [ 23 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 80 , 81 ]. Moreover, the authoritative parenting style continues to have a positive effect on children’s development from childhood until later adulthood [ 36 , 79 ]. Finally, an authoritative parenting style helps children become more compassionate, helpful, and kind to other people [ 79 ].

Conversely, due to their high responsiveness and low demandingness, permissive parents do not seek control and authority over their children, guide them to regulate their behavior, and let them decide for themselves [ 36 ]. Thus, children of permissive parents learn to be passive and unresponsive in their interactions with others, developing antisocial behavior. As a result, they become dependent and present low levels of cognitive development and self-control, as well as low self-concept for acceptance by peers, especially in girls [ 36 , 80 ]. In addition, a permissive parenting style positively correlates with externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems and delinquency [ 36 ].

Concerning the authoritarian parenting style, which is characterized by low responsiveness and high demandingness, it is significantly positively correlated with reduced ability to regulate behavior, reduced self-esteem and self-confidence, low social skills, adjustment difficulties, depression, delinquency, externalizing and internalizing problems, aggression in boys and hyperactivity in girls, as well as problems in interactions with peers [ 23 , 36 , 80 , 81 ]. Thus, authoritarianism and corporal punishment, especially during childhood, can lead to suicide, depression in adulthood, or problems in the later stages of the child’s life [ 36 ]. Furthermore, regardless of the intramarital conflicts in the family, socioeconomic level, and children’s temperament, harsh punitive discipline predicts child aggression at school [ 82 ]. However, a ten-year longitudinal study [ 83 ] showed no relationship between early parental punitiveness and subsequent aggression. Furthermore, Moore and Eisenberg [ 84 ] found no negative relationship between authoritarian parenting style and children’s positive social development. Finally, according to research, psychologically controlling parenting has detrimental effects on the psychosocial development of adolescents, increasing the risk of externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems [ 85 , 86 ].

1.5. Recent Studies on Parenting Styles Using a Person-Centered Approach

The importance of exploring naturally occurring patterns of parenting styles is increasingly recognized by recent empirical studies. These studies use a person-centered approach, which permits researchers to include multiple parenting types and expand their understanding of the determinants and outcomes of parenting styles. For example, Carpenter and Mendez [ 87 ] examined longitudinal parenting profile differences in children’s behavioral adjustment by measuring aggression and hyperactive behavior of preschool children twice during the academic year. In their study, Bowers et al. [ 6 ], based on latent profiles of youth-reported parenting styles, examined the effect of parenting profiles in promoting positive youth development [ 6 ]. Kim et al. also used latent profile analyses in a three-wave longitudinal study lasting eight years, from early adolescence to emerging adulthood, to identify parenting profiles in Chinese American families and explore their consequences on adolescent adjustment [ 7 ], while Zhang et al. examined subtypes and their stability, and changes in Chinese maternal parenting style during early adolescence [ 88 ]. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, multigroup latent profile analyses showed that the high monitoring–high autonomy support profile yielded the most optimal outcomes on adolescent adjustment, while the low monitoring–high psychological control profile yielded the worst [ 89 ]. More recently, Teuber et al. used longitudinal person-oriented perspectives to examine the stability and possible changes in autonomy-related parenting profiles and to further explore their consequences on adolescents’ academic and psychological functioning [ 8 ].

1.6. The Current Study

In the current study, to investigate children’s and adolescents’ behavior, we used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [ 90 ], which is globally the most widely used tool for assessing children’s social, emotional, and behavioral problems and has also been translated into over 60 languages [ 91 ]. The parent version of the scale has interestingly indicated good psychometric properties: validity evidence based on internal structure (i.e., internal consistency), test–retest reliability of the scores, and inter-rater agreement on the scores [ 92 ]. In addition, recent findings from nationally representative data from the United Kingdom (UK) demonstrated that parent SDQ ratings show measurement invariance across the broad developmental period from preschool to adolescence [ 93 , 94 ]. Supportive evidence for measurement invariance of the parent version of the SDQ have also been provided across informants [ 95 , 96 ], community and clinical samples [ 89 ], gender and age of the child [ 97 ] and parent education level [ 98 ]. Specifically, we chose the three-factor model, which makes a broader distinction between prosocial, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors and indicated the best-fitting model in a sample of parents with 4- to 17-years old children in the US [ 99 ]. Recent results [ 100 ] reveal that the parent-version of the SDQ was a suitable tool for use and comparison across different contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, to explore how the dimensions of control, maturity demands, clarity of communication, and nurturance are combined with different parenting profiles, we examined how specific parenting profiles are related to children’s and adolescents’ behavior problems and prosocial behavior, expanding previous research in this area [ 6 , 7 , 88 ]. A review of the existing literature indicates a lack of research that follows a person-centered approach to examine the effects of parenting styles on children’s and adolescents’ behavioral problems and prosocial behavior. Therefore, the current study was designed to address this gap by stiving to isolate unique parental profiles using latent profile analysis. We used the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) [ 101 , 102 , 103 ] which is known as one of the few psychometrically robust scales measuring parenting practices [ 104 ] and has also been used in multiple different cultural groups [ 105 ]. This choice is justified by the idea that parents can engage in practices that align with any parenting style at different moments to different degrees [ 106 ].

Based on prior research using person-centered analytic approaches, we hypothesize that we will identify distinct parental profiles using latent profile analysis (H1). Aiming to define the predictive utility of the identified parental profiles, we also hypothesize that types of parenting profiles will display statistically significant differences in children’s and adolescents’ externalizing/internalizing behavior problems and prosocial behavior (H2). Finally, attempting to isolate personal and demographic characteristics that predict parental profiles, we expected that demographic factors such as parents age [ 107 , 108 ] and education [ 109 , 110 ] would be associated with children’s and adolescents’ externalizing/internalizing behavior problems and prosocial behavior profile membership (H3) and expected that younger and more educated parents would be more authoritative and less authoritarian.

2. Materials and Methods

The study is a web-based survey conducted in Greece via the Internet, in the framework of the third author’s master thesis, which was approved by the Hellenic Open University. Participants were recruited to voluntarily fill in an electronic form questionnaire created on Google Forms and posted in parent groups on social media by the same author. To achieve a sufficient response rate [ 111 ], the questionnaire was distributed multiple times for a period of 1 month; November until December 2019. Participants were instructed through a debrief describing the objective of the study and the confidential nature of their participation. In addition, to remove potential biases, the form elaborated on issues of protection of privacy and ethics and provided contact details for the third author. Participants were asked to confirm that they had read the form and were willing to participate in the study. Upon receipt of this confirmation, they were directed to the measures described below. Participants were asked to respond to all the answers and informed that participation would be anonymous. Participation duration was 15 min.

One of the reasons for choosing this kind of survey is the nature of the characteristics of population support, as groups are frequently established in which personal experiences are shared [ 112 ]. This research method was selected to ensure a diverse group of participants with varying levels of education, social status, and age. Online surveys were chosen for their convenience in reaching potential respondents who may be spread out over a large geographic area [ 113 ].

1203 parents participated in the study; 90.9% were women, while 9.1% were men. A total of 54% were 41–50 years old, 34.8% were 31–40, 9% were 51–60, 2% were 20–30, and 0.2% were over 60 years old. Regarding marital status, 88% were married, 8% were divorced, 1.4% were cohabiting, 1.3% were unmarried, 0.9% were widowed, and 0.4% were separated. Regarding their educational level, 41.8% were University or Applied sciences graduates, 28.4% PhD or master’s degree holders, 16.9% were general or vocational high school graduates, 9.9% were vocational training graduates, 2% were high school or technical school graduates, and 1% students. In terms of their occupational status, 83.3% were employed, and 16.7% were unemployed. Regarding their children’s gender, 47.8% were female. Finally, in regard to their children’ s age, the children were 6–12 (61.3%) and 13–18 (38.7%). By the DETECTANOMALY-procedure in SPSS (IBM, 2021), an option for detecting anomalies, we identified two cases out of 1205, which had to be removed because of their high anomaly index (case 933 = 9.70, respectively, for case 987 = 13.20) regarding the three parenting styles. Due to this, the analyses were performed with N = 1203 participants.

3. Measures

3.1. parenting styles.

The Greek version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) by Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, and Hart [ 101 , 102 , 103 ] was used, adapted to the Greek population by Maridaki-Kassotaki [ 102 ]. It is a self-administered questionnaire, grounded in Baumrind’s model of parental types based on two dimensions of parental behavior: responsiveness and demandingness [ 103 ]. It explores the parent–child relationship, communication, and parenting methods, distinguishing parents into three dominant parental types: the authoritative, the authoritarian, and the permissive types [ 102 ]. The sub-scale “authoritative parenting style” includes 12 statements (e.g., I understand my child’s feelings), the sub-scale “authoritarian parenting style” includes four statements (e.g., I use punishment as a means of discipline), and the sub-scale “permissive parenting style” includes three statements (e.g., I think it is hard to teach my child to discipline). All parenting scales had the same response format: 1 = never, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often, and 4 = always. Finally, regarding the internal consistency of the three parenting scales, Cronbach’s α was good for the authoritative type at 0.82, for the permissive type 0.75, and just satisfactory for the authoritarian type at 0.68.

3.2. Children’s and Adolescents’ Behavior

The parents’ version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [ 90 ] was completed by participants, created to assess children’s and adolescents’ behavioral and emotional problems in their everyday life. Specifically, the Greek version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire—SDQ [ 90 ] was used and completed by parents of children and adolescents. The questionnaire has been adapted to the Greek population by Bibou-Nakou et al. [ 114 ]. It includes 25 statements and three answers (not true, somewhat true, and true). The main scale (of 25 statements) is made up of five sub-scales with five items each: 1. Hyperactivity/attention deficit (e.g., (S)He is restless and hyperactive, cannot remain calm, still for long periods of time), 2. Conduct disorder (e.g., (S)He often has tantrums or is irritable), 3. Relationships with peers (e.g., (S)He is rather lonely, tends to play alone), 4. Emotional disorders (e.g., (S)He often complains of headaches, stomach aches, or feeling sick) and 5. Positive social behavior with five items (e.g., (S)He takes into account the feelings of others). The subscales “Hyperactivity/attention deficit” and “Conduct disorder” make up the SDQ-dimension “Externalizing problems”. In contrast, the subscales “Relationships with peers” and “Emotional disorders” make up the SDQ-dimension “Internalizing problems”. The positive social behavior scale makes the SDQ-dimension “prosocial behavior”. As for internal consistency, Cronbach’s α was suitable for all three SDQ-dimensions: for the positive social behavior, 0.70; for externalizing problems, 0.76 and for internalizing problems, 0.71.

We performed the multinomial computations of banding scores, enabling us to identify non-clinical or “at risk/clinical” cases. To achieve this, we followed the same criteria employed by Goodman in the original version of the SDQ [ 90 ], supported by empirical research on the detection and prevalence of mental health issues [ 24 , 115 ]. Based on the fact that approximately 10% of children and adolescents exhibit some form of mental health problem, and another 10% have a borderline problem, we designated threshold values as follows: scores above the 80th percentile fall into the “at risk/clinical = 1” range, scores, and scores below the 80th percentile fall into the “non-clinical = 0” category [ 90 , 116 , 117 ]. This categorization was applied to all subscales except for Prosocial behavior, where scores equal to or below the 20th percentile was considered “at risk/clinical = 1” and scores below the 20th percentile were considered “non-clinical = 0”.

3.3. Covariates

Parents Education: To assess parents’ education level, we asked for the following six educational levels: University or Applied sciences graduates, PhD, or master’s degree holders, general or vocational high school graduates, vocational training graduates, high school or technical school graduates, and students.

Parents Age: Parents’ age was assessed by five categories: 20–30 years, 31–40 years, 41–50 years, 51–60 years, and over 60 years old.

4.1. Analytic Strategy

The statistical analysis for this study was conducted in four steps: in step one, sociodemographic differences in the applied measures were examined using t -tests. In step two, because we regrouped the items to the scales, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis to test construct validity. In step three, parents’ parenting style patterns were identified by computing latent profile analyses (LPA) using three classification variables. In step four, we ran a multinomial regression analysis of the identified parenting style patterns related to SDQ to understand children and adolescents’ social behavior. For the conducted confirmatory factor analysis and the LPA, we used Mplus version 8.9 [ 118 ]. For the t -test and multinomial regression, SPSS 28 was used.

4.1.1. Results Analytic Step One: Sociodemographic Differences of All Measures and Intercorrelations

We ran t -tests (see Table 1 ) to analyze for mean differences in the SDQ dimensions and parenting styles by age group of the respective children and adolescents. Referring first to the three introduced SDQ dimensions, we identified only small but still significant effects (displayed Cohen’s d is low) between children and adolescents, with children having higher externalizing problems. When comparing the levels of the three parenting styles, we identified significantly higher levels for younger children than older children for both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles.

Sample Mean Levels (and Standard Deviations) of the SDQ-Dimensions and Parenting Styles by Age Group of the Respective Child.

Note. * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001. between younger and older children.

When looking at the connections between the SDQ dimensions and the parenting styles that were found (as shown in Table 2 ), there were low to moderate intercorrelations, which means there was no issue with multicollinearity.

Intercorrelations of the SDQ-Dimensions and Parenting Styles.

Note. *** = p < 0.001.

4.1.2. Results Analytic Step Two: Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for Testing Construct Validity

To test for construct validity and to verify the factor structure we performed a confirmatory factor analysis. CFA allows testing of the assumption that a hypothesized relationship between observed variables and their underlying latent constructs exists. The RMSEA, TLI, and CFI are deemed particularly important for accurately estimating CFAs [ 119 ]. Following Marsh et al. [ 120 ], we established the benchmark for a satisfactory model fit as RMSEA values below 0.08, coupled with CFI and TLI values above 0.90 and SRMR values below 0.08, indicating a strong fit for the model. The fit indices obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis applied were sufficient for the three parenting style scales, as evidenced by the following: (χ 2 (149) = 453.384, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.041 [90% CI = 0.037–0.046]; SRMR = 0.028 CFI = 0.923; TLI = 0.912), as for the five SDQ-parents sub-scales (χ 2 (231) = 587.411, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.036 [90% CI = 0.032–0.039]; SRMR = 0.042 CFI = 0.926; TLI = 0.903). This confirms the construct validity for each scale of the study.

4.1.3. Analysis Step Three: Identifying Parenting Style Patterns by Latent Profile Analysis (LPA)

We utilized three indicators, namely authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative parenting style, to group parents into distinct parenting style classes through the statistical application of Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). This allowed us to examine patterns of latent parenting styles, which encompassed multiple indicators and their interrelationships within the parenting style classes. By employing LPA as a comprehensive method, our objective was to assess the continuity of parenting style levels. The primary goal of this study was to use LPA to examine the proposed conceptualization of parenting styles, considering three aspects of parenting within an overarching latent structure, and to empirically classify latent variables into subgroups based on similar observations.

The models used in this study were non-nested. To determine the best model, different criteria were applied [ 121 ], including the entropy value, as well as information criteria such as the Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and Sample-Adjusted BIC (ABIC). The smaller values indicate a better fit [ 122 ]. Entropy was also considered, with values above 0.7 deemed sufficient to indicate certainty in the estimation, but with models of entropy of 1.0 being overidentified [ 123 , 124 ]. The final latent profile analysis (LPA) model was chosen based on various statistical indicators and theoretical considerations. Additionally, model fit criteria such as the Vuong-Lo-Mendell-Rubin Likelihood Ration test (LMR-LRT), the Lo-Mendell-Rubin Adjusted Likelihood Ratio test (aLMR-LRT), and the Bootstrapped Likelihood Ratio test (BLRT) were used for the LPA. A significant p -value indicated an improvement to the previous model with k − 1 profiles. The ultimate model for an LPA, which determines the number of profiles, is selected based on a combination of statistical measures and pre-existing theoretical frameworks and the rule of the most parsimonious solution [ 125 ], which means that the interpretability and the additional information provided by a more complex solution has to be established. There are currently no established guidelines for determining the appropriate size of profiles [ 121 ]. Following Nylund [ 124 ], we are arguing against having profile sizes with less than 50 cases or these profiles being less than 5% of the total sample.

The analysis was conducted for a range of two to six latent patterns. Statistical tests of model fit can be found in Table 3 . A model consisting of four profiles was selected, as it had a lower aBIC score than a profile 3 solution, and the entropy was higher. For the comparison between the profile 3 the profile 4 solutions, we additionally applied model fit criteria with significant p -values for profile 3 over the profile two solutions, indicating an improvement to the previous model, but non-significant p -values on LMR-LRT and aLMR-LRT when comparing profile 3 and profile 4 but with still significant p -values on the BLRT, indicating an improvement for the profile 4 to the profile three models. When comparing the profile 4 to the 5 or 6 profile solution, we noticed several criteria decreasing. In comparison to the profile 4 solutions, we detected for profile 5 (aBIC Delta to profile 4 = 777) and 6 (aBIC Delta to profile 5 = 948) solutions a significant drop in aBIC differences, and for both solutions an Entropy of 1.0, which suggested weak evidence [ 126 ] and an overidentification of the model [ 127 ], leading us favoring the profile 4 solution.

Model Fit Indices for Latent Profile Analysis on Parenting Styles, N = 1203.

Note. AIC = Akaike information criterion; BIC = Bayesian information criterion; ABIC = Sample-size adjusted BIC; LMR LR = Vuong-Lo-Mendell-Rubin Likelihood Ratio Test; ALMR LR = Lo-Mendell-Rubin Adjusted LRT Test; BLRT = Bootstrap likelihood ratio test.

For the 5 (one profile with n = 18 participants, 2.3% of the sample) and 6 profile (one profile with n = 49, 3.9% of the sample; one profile with n = 44, 3.6% of the sample; one profile with n = 9, 0.7% of the sample), solutions had far too small sample sizes [ 124 , 128 ]. Additionally, for both the 5 and 6 profile solutions, the new profiles did not offer new theoretical insights. but merely split already existing small profiles. Based on the abovementioned criteria and the principle of favoring more restricted and simple models, the profile 4 solutions were ultimately chosen. Along with empirical measures, the selection of the profile 4 solutions was also influenced by its interpretability and alignment with existing theoretical frameworks.

By the three introduced parenting styles and the consecutive tests on a different number of profiles (two to six profiles), we identified the four-profile solution as the best fitting. Regarding the distribution of the four profiles (see Figure 1 ), we identified a profile (profile 1, 66.6% of the participants) called Highly Authoritative style (HA) with high levels of authoritative, the lowest levels of authoritarian and middle levels of permissive parenting styles. We additionally identified a profile called Relaxed Authoritative style (RA) (profile 2, 16.3% of the participants) with still high but lower levels of authoritative style than in profile 1, low but elevated levels of authoritarian style, and middle levels of permissive style. Profile 4 (12.4% of the participants), named Permissive Focused Authoritative style (PFA), had a mix of the second highest levels of authoritative and middle levels of permissive and slightly higher levels of authoritarian parenting styles. Finally, in profile 3 (4.4% of the participants), named Inconsistent Parenting style (IP), we identified parents with a blend of higher levels of authoritative and middle levels of permissive and authoritarian parenting levels. From the solution chosen, we could detect that parenting styles are a complex mix and multidimensional latent construct encompassing authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive styles, rather than a distinct single parenting style as commonly assumed.

Diagrammatic Representation of the four identified parenting style profiles by LPA.

We analyzed if there were differences in the patterns concerning parental education and parents’ age to control for any effects caused by these two covariates by using multinomial-regression analysis. Neither for education (Wald chi2(12) = 9.830, p = 0.631) nor for age (Wald chi2(6) = 6.091, p = 0.413) have significant effects been identified.

4.1.4. Analysis Step Four: Multinomial Regression Analysis on the Identified Parenting Patterns Related to the Three SDQ Dimensions to Understand the Social Behavior of the Respective Children

For the three SDQ dimensions (internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior), we identified significantly lower levels of problems when comparing the “highly authoritative style” profile to the other three parenting profiles (see Table 4 ). This was especially the case when comparing the “highly authoritative style” profile to the “permissive focused authoritative style” or the “inconsistent parenting style” profile. No significant differences were identified (see Table 4 ) when comparing the levels of prosocial behavior of the four parenting profiles. In summary, we identified the “highly authoritative parenting style” profile to be the least connected to internalizing or externalizing problems of the respective children when studying the answers by their parents.

Multinomial logistic regression of SDQ-dimensions in the four LPA profiles.

Note: S.E. = Standard Error; OR = Odds Ratio. Reference LPA profile is the profile we called “Highly Authoritative style”. For all three SDQ-dimensions: (0 normal; 1 at risk/clinical).

5. Discussion

Given the lack of studies that capture parenting styles as a heterogeneous construct and therefore solely focus on the individual and the well-known parenting styles, i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive, we pursued the research question as to whether there are distinct parenting style profiles. We conceptualized parenting style as a multidimensional and latent construct encompassing diverse aspects of parenting rather than a single one. We, therefore, defined parenting style as a collection, a mix of parents’ attitudes, behaviors, and emotions [ 9 ].

By using latent profile analysis and examining the association between the identified profiles and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and prosocial behavior, our study is able to confirm the relevance of presenting the different parenting dimensions in a more complex and appropriate picture of parenting profiles and their influence on adolescents’ socio-emotional skills. Person-centered approaches extend beyond commonly used methods for establishing these parenting styles or profiles, such as the scale-mean or median-split methods, which can be problematic when dealing with multiple dimensions [ 129 ].

The present study adopted a person-oriented method to overcome these limitations and address the complex interplay of multiple dimensions. This approach allowed, following Hypotheses 1, identification of distinct parental profiles using latent profile analysis, for an adequate representation of the combinations of parenting styles. Interestingly, previous studies using person-centered approaches have revealed different combinations of parenting styles but have not confirmed distinct forms of permissive parenting profiles [ 88 , 110 ] or authoritarian profiles [ 130 , 131 ]. Our results supported these findings by considering parenting styles as a multidimensional construct rather than mere forms of distinct parenting styles. These findings build on previous research and demonstrate how person-oriented methods can provide insights that are difficult to achieve with variable-oriented techniques. Detecting the latent profiles used in this study to identify parenting styles would be challenging, if not impossible, to confirm using traditional variable-oriented analyses.

Confirming Hypothesis 1, we found four distinct profiles regarding a mix of all three parenting styles. We could not identify a parenting style that was uniquely focused on authoritarian, authoritative, or permissive styles, demonstrating that parenting styles should be captured as a multidimensional, latent concept. Interestingly, all four patterns were very high in the authoritative style, suggesting that some form of responsiveness and control characterizes all profiles. This finding is in line with other studies [ 87 ], which also found several parenting profiles consisted of authoritative (i.e., adaptive) parenting practices. Additionally, in our research, most parents had middle levels of authoritarian style (i.e., negative features). Specifically, three out of four profiles showed some authoritarian parenting style combined with authoritative and permissive styles. This means that a third of the children and adolescents do experience intrusive, critical, scolding, and threatening behaviors common to authoritarian parents [ 17 , 22 , 23 ], in addition to some levels of warm, loving, and dialogical behaviors [ 17 , 21 ], as well as loose or contradictory discipline [ 18 ].

Notably, analyses of the latent profile frequencies indicated that most parents in our sample perceived their practices as exhibiting a relatively positive parenting style/profile. Given that the concept of equifinality (i.e., different early experiences in life) is helpful for interpreting how parenting styles are associated with adaptive or maladaptive behavioral outcomes over time [ 87 ], the results of the current study extend the research on multiple manifestations of adaptive parenting by Greek parents of children and adolescents. We found it surprising that the permissive style was present to a moderate degree in all four profiles. This means that, although permissiveness alone is negative for socio-emotional development in children and adolescents, our results demonstrate that it was not determinant for profile affiliation in combination with high authoritative and low authoritarian styles.

Confirming Hypothesis 2, the present study demonstrated that the socio-emotional development in childhood and adolescence is strongly linked to the parenting style experienced. Children and adolescents with parents with primarily authoritative parenting styles, characterized by high levels of behavioral control and support and lower levels of psychological control, show a positive developmental status. In contrast, adolescents with affective controlling parents manifest problems in externalizing and internalizing behavior. This aligns with the existing empirical evidence, which consistently shows that the authoritative parenting style is positive for adaptive socio-emotional development, while the others are not [ 132 , 133 , 134 ]. These findings propose that children and adolescents have fewer behavioral problems [ 36 ] and a reduced tendency to internalize problems and dangerous behaviors [ 80 , 81 ].

Although the majority of parenting programs aimed at parents have focused on improving communication with their children, there are limited studies addressing parenting strategies [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Thus, we assume that parents may need more support in coping with their children’s behavioral problems and improving their parenting abilities to decrease the problem behavior. By identifying different patterns of parenting styles, it becomes clear that not all parents have the same needs. Interventions can be tailored to parents’ individual needs and challenges based on their specific profile patterns. This is important because, if parents can learn to create a positive and supportive environment for their children, they can reduce the risk of externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems, especially as parent–child conflict starts early in a child’s life and is very stable over time [ 31 ]. Thus, we adopt Teuber’s et al. [ 8 ] suggestion that the person-oriented results pointed out that it is useful to reinforce parents with guidance on positive parenting skills through parenting programs that focus on adaptive parenting practices, and direct the several maladaptive effects of different forms of dysfunctional practices. Contrary to our expectations regarding prosocial behavior, no significant differences were identified when comparing the levels of prosocial behavior of the four parenting profiles, supposing that our findings are inconsistent with prior findings that indicated that parenting dimensions are related to adolescents’ prosocial behavior [ 70 , 71 ]. Considering that we used SDQ parent reports regarding their children’s prosocial behavior, our study examined prosocial behavior as a global construct, ignoring differentiation between the subtypes of this behavior (e.g., altruistic, compliant, emotional, and public) [ 57 ], as well as between the motivations underlying it.

While our research on Hypotheses 3 challenges the assumption that parents’ age and education are strong determinants of parenting patterns [ 108 , 109 , 110 ], it is essential to note that the existing literature suggests some weak associations. Therefore, it is crucial to interpret our findings with caution. Nonetheless, our study underscores the need for further investigation into the multifaceted factors that influence parenting behaviors and the potential role of intervention programs, such as the newly developed profiles, in shaping these behaviors.

The implications of our findings on Hypothesis 3 are twofold. Firstly, it is suggested that other factors not considered in our research may have a more substantial impact on parenting patterns. It is possible that aspects such as cultural influences, personal values, or individual experiences may play a more significant role in shaping how parents interact with their children. Secondly, the reduced effects of parents’ age and education observed in our study could be attributed to the effectiveness of the newly developed profiles. These profiles might have facilitated a greater homogenization of parenting practices, potentially minimizing the impact of individual characteristics, such as age and education.

6. Limitations

Even if the insights gained by the chosen analytic design clearly expand the previous knowledge on parenting styles, there are a few limitations. As patterns of parental styles are not traits but states, we needed, instead of the chosen cross-sectional approach, a full longitudinal design. In future research, a latent transition analysis (LTA) should be applied to indicate significant differences in the longitudinal classification of the identified parenting patterns. LTA, the longitudinal extension of LCA, is a statistical tool that models possible parenting style pattern transitions over time. Especially. the findings regarding the “highly authoritative parenting style” as the least connected to children’s internalizing or externalizing problems should be approached with caution. There may be other confounding factors not considered in the analysis that could influence these associations, such as autonomy support and controlling parenting [ 135 , 136 ] or child–parent communication [ 137 ]. We also used parents’ self-perceptions of their parenting styles. Including the children’s perceptions of the respective parenting styles would have been interesting. Given that relations with parents play a distinct role in children’s development, the respective qualities of the relationship between parents and children are significant predictors of children’s academic, personal, and social development [ 138 ].

In addition, as our sample only included participants from a specific cultural context (Greek parents), the generalization of the findings to other countries and cultural contexts is rather limited. Furthermore, the sample restrictions and our specific sampling approach via the Internet can be considered another study limitation, even if our sample was large enough to be considered stable against minor deviations. Nevertheless, Mann and Stewart [ 139 ] noticed the risk of losing sight of who responds to online questionnaires. For example, about 90% of mothers answered our questionnaire. Although these surveys do not represent the total population of internet users, non-probability samples can be valuable, as they may be representative of a subgroup of the total population [ 113 ]. Another limitation is that marital status did not indicate if the parents were single mothers or fathers. In a future study, we could ask for this additional information, because it may matter to the chosen parenting styles [ 5 ]. We also did not ask for family income or migration status, both conditions that can also affect parenting styles [ 91 , 140 ].

7. Conclusions

To sum up, our results succeeded in extending parental types beyond the traditional authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative styles. The current study brings to light the person-centered approach in which parenting styles are better expanded into four parenting profiles, with the authoritative style predominating. Given the importance of the finding that one-third of children and adolescents exhibit behavior problems, the socio-emotional development in childhood and adolescence reaffirms the necessity of parenting programs to guide parenting practices.

Funding Statement

This research was supported by The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the SNF-Project 100019_185481 “Understanding the resilience pathways of adolescent students with experience of physical family violence: The interplay of individual, family and school class risk and protective factors”, awarded to WK (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland).

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.V. and W.K.; methodology, A.V., W.K. and A.K.; formal analysis, W.K.; data collection, A.K.; original draft preparation, A.V. and W.K.; writing—review and editing, A.V., W.K., A.K., D.A., C.A.F. and S.T.; funding acquisition, W.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and did not have to be approved by the Ethics Committee of the Hellenic Open University because of the sample (participants’ age) and the topic.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Types of Parenting Styles and Their Impact on Children

Parenting is a challenging yet rewarding endeavor. But how do we decide how to raise our children? Many people who have kids, whether they parent alone or with a partner, have asked this question. It can be overwhelming when choosing types of parenting styles to follow, especially since these styles can vary from person to person. Here, we’ll walk you through the different parenting styles identified by researchers over the years and their impact on children.

Authoritative Parenting Style

This parenting style is all about being responsive, nurturing, and supportive while setting firm limits for children [ * ]. Let’s look at the details of this parenting style.

Characteristics

The authoritative parenting style is characterized by a balance between independence and structure. It allows children to grow within reasonable boundaries while still exploring their abilities and desires. While parents who use this style implement strict standards that they expect their children to abide by, they also provide support by fostering an emotionally caring environment that builds trust.

This style of parenting is sometimes called “tough but fair.” Children have the space to make mistakes without fear of judgment while still having a structure that provides guidance. Other characteristics of authoritative parenting include supportive rather than punitive disciplinary measures and being assertive but not intrusive and restrictive.

Impact on children

Children raised using an authoritative parenting style are usually confident, happy, and successful. They are more likely to make good decisions and evaluate risks better on their own. Authoritative parenting is connected to academic achievement, heightened self-esteem, and resilience [ * ].

Children with authoritative parents tend to have the following:

• Positive and nurturing relationship with parents
• Tendency to be respectful and responsible
• High sense of self-esteem, confidence, and self-regulation
• A higher likelihood of being happy and successful
• Better ability to manage their aggression
• Better ability to clearly express their emotions

Children who are raised with this style of parenting can be trusted to make the right decisions on their own. These kids also tend to set high expectations for themselves. They tend to perform well academically and socially, and they are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol. This may be helpful for parenting children with different needs, such as the highly sensitive child .

Example of an authoritative parenting style

There are many examples where authoritative parenting styles can be seen. One situation where it clearly shows is during mealtimes.

Rather than imposing strict restrictions and rules, authoritative parents model eating behaviors. They will typically include kids during meal preparation and involve them in the decision-making, such as choosing what to have for dinner one night a week. Research shows that authoritative parenting leads to better outcomes in weight management and eating habits in children [ * ].

Related Article:   Mindful Parenting: Benefits, Tips, and Examples

Authoritarian Parenting Style

Authoritarian parents are much more rigid than authoritative parents and implement tough rules for their children to follow. Learn more about this type of parenting below.

Authoritarian parenting styles are characterized by the strict enforcement of rules that children are expected to follow without question. These rules are not open for interpretation, compromise, or further discussion. This parenting style is also known for using punishments when rules are violated to ensure obedience from children. Affection is not usually expressed, if at all.

This approach to parenting can have negative consequences on children that can follow them into adulthood. Children who were raised by authoritarian parents often have trouble with the following:

• Making decisions for themselves
• Choosing right from wrong independently
• Self-esteem issues
• Needing confirmation of their worth from outside authority figures

Authoritarian parenting does not seem to instill lasting lessons. Children will often act out in their parents' absence and seek guidance from someone else, both of which are signs that your child does not respect you .

Example of an authoritarian parenting style

Let us use the same example of mealtimes to illustrate the authoritarian parenting style.

Unlike authoritative parents who involve their children in the decision-making and preparation of meals for the family, authoritarian parents are more likely to enforce strict rules. They may require everyone to eat simultaneously and enforce punishments for not finishing on their plate. The family is less likely to discuss why they eat certain foods and how they contribute to culture, health, and well-being.

Permissive Parenting Style

Permissive parenting styles don’t implement rules or structures that may upset their children. Here are the characteristics of this type of parenting.

The permissive parenting style is considered the opposite of the authoritarian parenting style. It is characterized by the non-implementation of rules or structures that may go against what the child wants. Parents who use this style usually give their children what they want. They also often act as peers or friends to their kids.

While being extra responsive to your child’s needs can be beneficial, the lack of structure can have negative consequences. Parents who practice a permissive parenting style may end up with entitled or anxious children who develop those traits because no one is taking charge.

Since children have high authority and standing in the household, children of permissive parents are used to getting what they want. This can lead to behavioral problems as they are not used to authority and rules.

Some downsides of permissive parenting include the following:

• Difficulty making decisions
• Lack of responsibility
• Lack of independence
• Struggling academically

Children who undergo this style of parenting may become egotistical, selfish, and entitled. They may also refuse or fail to put any effort into school, work, and social endeavors since they are not expected to do so at home. If your child is constantly angry as a result of this type of parenting, you may need to use certain rules to parent an angry child .

Permissive parents may also raise children with a greater risk of developing health problems, such as a high BMI and obesity, as they struggle to limit unhealthy food intake or promote regular exercise [ * ]. Children are also more likely to develop cavities since permissive parents do not enforce good habits such as tooth brushing.

Example of a permissive parenting style

Let us use the same example of mealtimes mentioned above to illustrate permissive parenting. In this parenting style, parents are lax about the foods their children have, allowing them to choose whatever they want. Parents will even go out of their way to provide what their children desire.

This may lead to picky eating and unhealthy dietary choices. Not only is permissive parenting associated with a lower intake of fruits and vegetables, but it may also result in children experiencing difficulty being flexible with food options in social settings.

Uninvolved Parenting Style

Also known as the neglectful parenting style, uninvolved parents often ignore their children and offer little guidance, nurturing, and attention. Read on to learn more about this parenting style.

Parents who practice the uninvolved or neglectful parenting style do not interact much with their children. This parenting style is characterized by the non-implementation of any structure or rules. These parents also do not show much affection to their children or get involved with their kids’ lives. Children are mostly left to fend for themselves.

This parenting style can negatively impact children, especially when taken to the extreme. Even if it is not physically damaging, the emotional and psychological consequences of this parenting style can be severe. It can lead to children:

• Having difficulty forming close relationships
• Becoming depressed
• Lashing out by taking part in delinquent or hostile behavior
• Having failed relationships
• Cutting themselves off from others

Neglectful parents may also raise children who develop attachment issues. This is a result of a fleeting or absent parent-child bond or relationship.

Example of an uninvolved parenting style

Uninvolved parents are very inconsistent when it comes to mealtimes at home. They might not plan meals or even buy groceries at all, leaving children to fend for themselves. As a result, children may become preoccupied with food and often eat too much when food does become available, leading to obesity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some commonly asked questions regarding styles of parenting.

What is the most common parenting style?

While most parents adopt mixed parenting styles, the authoritative parenting style is most common [ * ].

What type of parenting style is most recommended?

The most recommended parenting style is the authoritative parenting style. Clear communication, structure and support, and age-appropriate standards allow for the development of emotionally stable adults who can navigate life more successfully.

What role does culture play in parenting styles?

Culture plays a significant role in shaping parenting styles by influencing parents' values, beliefs, and goals for their children.

Individualistic cultures may favor authoritative or permissive styles, while collectivistic cultures may emphasize authoritarian approaches. Values like respect for elders, gender roles, and academic achievement can shape discipline, expectations, and child-rearing practices [ * ].

Are there any other types of parenting styles?

There are many other parenting style subtypes, including helicopter parenting, free-range parenting, snowplow parenting, lighthouse parenting, attachment parenting, parallel parenting, and tiger parenting.

The Bottom Line

There's no perfect parenting style, but by understanding the different approaches and their potential effects, you can find a balance that works for your family. Your child's needs will change over time, so be flexible and adjust your approach as they grow. The most important thing is to create a loving and supportive environment that fosters your child's unique potential.

If you need tips on parenting an anxious child or want to learn how to support children with specific needs, then do not hesitate to contact a qualified professional.

References:

• American Psychological Association. Parenting Styles. 2017.
• Hayek J, Schneider F, Lahoud N, et al. Authoritative parenting stimulates academic achievement, also partly via self-efficacy and intention towards getting good grades. 30 March 2022.
• Lopez N, Schembre S, Belcher B, et al. Parenting styles, food-related parenting practices, and children’s healthy eating: A mediation analysis to examine relationships between parenting and child diet. 18 June 2018.
• Hayek J, Tueni M, F Schneider, et al. Parenting style as longitudinal predictor of adolescents’ health behaviors in Lebanon. 16 December 2020.
• Rangarajan J, Narasimhan U, Janakiraman A, et al. Parenting Styles of Parents Who Had Children With and Without High Risk at Birth: A Cross-sectional Comparative Study. 23 February 2020.
• Masamba H. Cultural Influences on Parenting Styles and Child Development. 2024.

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Halle Berry Has Requested Sole Legal Custody Of Her And Olivier Martinez’s 10-Year-Old Son

In court documents, Halle claimed that her ex-husband’s history of “prioritizing soccer activities” over their 10-year-old son’s educational and psychological well-being has “worsened” his “educational and behavioral challenges.”

BuzzFeed Staff

Halle Berry is seeking sole custody of her and Olivier Martinez’s 10-year-old son, Maceo-Robert.

Halle and Olivier’s divorce was finalized last August, almost eight years after they parted ways in 2015. They welcomed Maceo in 2013 — the same year they got married — and when they split, they agreed to share joint legal custody of their son.

According to People , Halle was required to pay Olivier $8,000 a month in child support and an additional “4.3% of any income she receives above $2,000,000.”

Earlier this year, in May, Halle and Olivier purportedly agreed to attend “coparenting therapy” with a coach to help “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an effort to successfully coparent.”

But this month, an insider alleged to People that Halle and Olivier continued to struggle with coparenting.

“They have very different parenting styles,” the source said . “Coparenting hasn't been easy. Still, they both love Maceo, and he's amazing...[he's a] very focused student. Halle very much tries to keep his life private.”

Now, it has been revealed that Halle has filed for sole legal custody of Maceo, claiming that Olivier failed to keep seeing their coparenting coach.

According to People , who obtained legal documents filed on Aug. 16, Halle has requested sole custody of — or the “tie-breaking authority to make all decisions” about — Maceo’s education and health requirements.

View this photo on Instagram

Halle purportedly claimed that she’s fought for “tutoring, an educational assessment,” and finding a suitable environment to aid Maceo’s “educational challenges.”

However, she alleged that Olivier has been “oppositional” and “unmoving,” alleging that Olivier’s history of “prioritizing soccer activities over Maceo’s educational and psychological wellbeing” has “worsened” the 10-year-old’s “educational and behavioral challenges.”

BuzzFeed has reached out to Olivier’s representatives for comment.

Topics in this article

• Halle Berry

Parenting’s Skills, Values and Styles Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Parenting Skills and Their Development

Parental values and attitudes, methods of effective guidance, the role of discipline with punishment, constructive and destructive elements in parenting styles, parenting and influence of the society.

Description of Concrete Experience : I have found parenting to be a very tasking job yet important responsibility that one has in a lifetime. Unfortunately, there is no formal education to guide me in parenting; all I have is a handful of literature materials on the subject. I mostly rely on the experience I received from my parents. I usually do either what they did to me or do what I felt was supposed to be done based on my personal opinion

Reflection: As a parent, rather a mother of two children it has not been an easy task trying to bring them up in the most appropriate way. There is no parenting class offered in school and the guidance given in the hospital before birth mainly focuses on the birth process. No one gives a very comprehensive guideline on how to bring up children until they become responsible adults. Most people muddle along until they make it.

As a single parent, my main concern has been to try the much I can to understand my children’s behavior and give them the most appropriate guidance. Knowing that they will at one point become adolescents, I have made efforts to try and get any relevant form of training that will assist me in guiding them when the right time comes. Under the training, I learned the different reactions of my children to people as well as different events.

Generalization/Principles/Theories : Psychologists have made efforts to research and come up with recommendations on the best parenting tactics. Parents might therefore acquire the parenting skills by going for the appropriate training.

Since the death for my husband on April 2003, it has been very challenging to parent my children singlehandedly. My children lack a father figure and this has affected them in a way.

Psychologists have recommended the best way to ensure that your children are brought up to become responsible adults. It is quite common for children raised by single parents to be seriously affected and if not well-guided they might start indulging in unacceptable acts like substance abuse.

Testing and Application : I have sought help from psychologists under the family therapy program as well as the psychotherapy and this has had a great impact in helping me develop better parenting skills.

I can now understand my two children and avoid practices that are unhealthy. I have been able to adapt the best practices when it comes to matters like administering disciplinary measures to them as well as helping them avoid bad habits.

Some of the tactics I use include taking some of their privileges away, for instance, I do this through denying my son the chance to watch television, having fun at the play station, hanging out with his friends, going for skating as well as doing some spanking among other forms of instilling discipline.

For my daughter on the other hand, I do it by basically making sure that she does not get her privileges for instance, by taking away her cell phone as well as denying her the chance to watch television.

Description of Concrete Experience : I learnt that in the early stages of development, the child is in most cases preoccupied with acquisition of knowledge and values and this mainly comes from the environment from which the child brought up. This means my children behave according to the attitude that I as the parent portray towards them.

If I have a negative attitude towards my children, they tend to behave badly because of the notion that I do not show love to them. Name-calling is also a problem. When a parent constantly refers to a disobedient child as naughty, there are high chance that the children will grow perceiving themselves as naughty.

This is widely known as the self-fulfilling prophesies. In the same way, I have learnt to always have a positive perception toward my children. I believe that they are growing up with a better perception of themselves which is that they are good people expected to behave well.

Reflection : This tactic has worked for me. I always want my children to have a positive outlook toward life and have a high self-esteem.

I therefore for focus on their positive aspects and encourage them to develop positive traits instead of focusing on their shortfalls or how bad they are. I correct them by showing them the right values that I want them to acquire. I do my best to act as a role model to them hence showing them the right path to follow.

One cannot for instance expect the child to be hard working if he/she is not providing the best example for being hard working. Children basically acquire their values from the parents whether consciously or unconsciously. If the parent is a drunkard, the child is most likely to become one as that is the value that the child will have acquired.

Generalization/Principles/Theories : the Information Processing Theory of Cognitive Development explains that a child’s brain can be compared to the computer. This translates to mean that the brain accepts input and uses the same information to process the output.

The child will therefore perceive and understand issues according to the input acquired particularly from those parenting them. Whatever occurs in the physical or the social environment of the child greatly influences their expectations or understanding about life issues.

Their social, cultural, or even cultural environment greatly influences their development and this is basically acquired from the adults around them. As a mother, I have a very significant role in my children’s cognitive development because they depend on what I teach them or what they learn from my conduct to develop they behavior.

Testing and Application : my children usually prefer to emulate me and other adults as they develop their own personality. In some cases, my children may play the roles of parents in their games and this allows them take responsibility in a simulated setting making decisions and acting like responsible grown-ups.

This just shows the role that parenting plays in the cognitive development of a child. Children may for instance play games that mimic proper behavioral conduct or routine activities of those values instilled in them in the earlier years.

Children acquire logical reasoning at an early age; they are able to use deductive methods of reasoning to come up with conclusions. Such deductions are in most cases acquired from their environments. Children born in conservative families, cultures, or belief systems tend to be conservative. In most cases, they stick to the principles and beliefs installed in them and they are very reluctant to act or go against those beliefs.

Description of Concrete Experience: as a parent, I strive to give effective guidance to my children. I feel that am obliged to use techniques that will minimize conflict between me and them children. In this endeavor punishment and discipline are two different things.

My method of guidance is developmentally appropriate because I now understand what my children want and what I expect from them. I consider my children as very important members of my family. As such they need to be loved and I take up this duty to ensure better development. Just like any other child, I understand that children need my love and need to know they are loved. I give them unconditional love.

As a single parent, I try to see to it that the children feel my love as they have no one else to look to when it comes to parental love. Even while implementing the disciplinary measures, I make them understand that it is for their own good as I want them to become responsible people.

Reflection : As a parent of a teenage son, it is never easy to give the appropriate guidance whenever the child has made a mistake. Most adolescents become rowdy and they may be unwilling to cooperate in different ways.

Punishing my son sometimes draws him away and he distances himself and hence making it even more difficult for me to give the needed guidance. In such cases, disciplining the child might be of greater significance than administering punishment.

The best way of fostering discipline for me has been to ensure effective communication and openness with the child and talking to him/her about the issue at hand. The method is effective and it can work for children of different ages. In most cases, the results are usually positive. In fact, the child is able to contribute to the solution to his/her own problem.

Generalization/Principles/Theories: It is always good to understand the development stage a child is going through. It could be more harmful when I view my child as a failure or a letdown when it comes to the behavior. I understand that my children are still in the age bracket of learning behavior that can be termed as acceptable. As far as I see, the best guidance approach is preventive rather than curative.

This makes me to be sensitive about the feelings of my children and I respect their feelings and address bad behavioral aspects. I always seek establish the reason behind certain behaviors of my children must be established. As a parent, I have developed a relationship that is supportive with my children so as to foster the guidance.

Testing and Application: there are some standard guidance approaches that are very beneficial in ensuring that children attain better self control and respect for other people.

As a parent, I have acted as a role model to my children and my zeal to learn better parenting skills has also paid off well as I have managed to keep my children obedient. They always feel loved and accepted as they are and this has helped be foster their self-concept.

I have always given them options that I know I can be able to abide by myself. I also give realistic options and sensible repercussions for defiance. Considering that some behaviors come because of the environment in which people grow, I have adopted an approach that constantly changes the environment to avoid certain bad behaviors that may develop.

Description of Concrete Experience: Discipline helps children to adopt acceptable ways or habits and it entails teaching good behavior and rebuking bad behavior. Punishment on the other hand is reprimanding bad behavior with aim of preventing such behavior in future or deterrence of unacceptable conduct.

It’s often a parent’s way of reacting to anger. It is a hurtful act that helps to prevent the child from committing the mistake although this is short-lived. I know that punishment does not give any guidance to the children but could precipitate into unhealthy relationship between the parent and the child. Punishment is not the best option for in trying to correct my children.

My children need to learn appropriate behavior in a positive way and punishment is just a short-lived remedy to the problem of wrongdoing. Children who are punished may in the long run become very different people as compared to those disciplined.

Reflection : Discipline plays a very significant role in a child’s development. It is meaningful to a child as it enables him/her to rectify the mistake and points to the right thing to do. The child feels appreciated and he/she becomes part of the solution to the problem at hand.

Punishment on the other hand does not show the child what to do. The child is left to feel that he/she is bad. It might in fact have nothing to do with the mistake. It does not make sense to the child.

Generalization/Principles/Theories: In disciplining, I take the position of a role model hence a guide to my children by being a good example to them. In punishment, however, I am the judge over the misconduct and I pass the judgment to them by inflicting pain like grounding them, denying them television, taking away their computer games, telephone, and for my son sometimes spanking. After one is disciplined, the person feels motivated while punishment results in the demoralization of the subject.

Testing and Application : Punishment might be administered by inflicting pain to the offender or denying them something and this is usually effective because children attach so much value to things like TV and computer games.

However, the only problem is that it may leave a negative feeling that as a parent I do not love them 100%, it’s therefore a great challenge trying to let them know that I punish them because I love them.

In my case, for instance, I use both denying of privileges as well as spanking while trying to correct my children’s behavior and they change their behavior and even ask for forgiveness. Whenever the children fail to comply by the discipline I offer, then they become liable for some punishment.

I use both discipline and punishment to ensure that my children will grow to become responsible members of the society. My discipline approach encompasses training and imparting proper knowledge while punishment is mainly inflicting pain, emotional and physical.

Description of Concrete Experience: Parenting can be both constructive as well as destructive. Those elements of parenting that are constructive should be encouraged while the destructive ones should be discouraged.

Some of the constructive ones might include; building a good rapport between the children and the parent, reinforcing the desired behavior, and letting the children understand the consequences of bad behavior. Punishment is just one of the destructive parenting elements. Here pain or agony is inflicted to the child so as to force them to stop a negative behavior. It might be in form of corporal punishment or verbal reprimand.

Reflection: Discipline coupled with guidance tends to be very beneficial when reinforcing good behavior and this is precisely much of what I use.

Many people know that parents must act as role models so as to instill the desired values into their children. Reprimands if not well used or targeted at a given character might just result in reinforcing the negative character as it gives the child the attention.

In some cases, the child might feel slandered and develop a negative attitude. This is the reason why I show a lot of affection to KA and ZA and make use positive reinforcements so as to encourage positive behavior rather than punitive measures. A good relationship makes my children feel more secure and therefore are always willing to comply with my parenting manipulation of their behavior.

Generalization/Principles/Theories: The Authoritarian Parenting style is based strict rules and being in charge. The parents using this strategy seek to take total control of all the aspects of their children’s lives. Parents hence institute stringent rules, they are inflexible, unbending, and strict. Such parent can be said to use ‘iron rod’ in ruling their children.

Defiance of the rules leads to punishment and the relationship between the parents and the children lacks warmth and affection. Children cannot develop ability to think well as parents do not explain reason behind the rules and they have problems of expressing themselves.

The permissive parenting style is the approach where parents are more loving and the parents do not strive to take control but allow their children to be in charge of their behavior. Parents do not usually institute a lot of rules and even the few that ate set are often lenient.

Parents require their children to develop critical thinking skills to know that bad behavior is harmful to self and others. Children are not often punished because parents fear that they may cause harm or the children would be offended and develop negative attitudes towards them. These parents are kind and loving but problem could escalate when children’s behavior becomes more rebellious requiring strong reprimand.

The democratic parenting styles employ a model that seems to be having permissive and authoritarian attributes. Democratic parents only enforce rules they deem very necessary and are also liberal in dealing with situations. These parents are loving and firm in their stance and are able to strike a good balance between high and low expectations.

This style allows parents and children to work together towards common goals and consequently, the children will grow to love their parents and revere their guidance. Children will grow to become more responsible and this is why I have adopted this parenting style.

Testing and Application : as a parent, I have been more consistent as this reduces resistance on the side of my children. My parenting style has developed a harmonious relationship between me as a parent and my two children.

Consequently, I often get positive results at the end. The parent needs to be flexible and be willing to listen and negotiate with the child especially if he/she is an adolescent. This reduces resistance and the child feels appreciated hence developing positive judgment. The parent needs to set behavior limits.

The parent must be ready to reward positive or desirable behavior and help the child in developing self-discipline. Eliminating negative behavior without reinforcing positive ones might not be that effective. The parent might also deny the child some privileges like taking the phone from the child, denying the child driving privileges, not allowing them to go out with their friends among other strategies.

Description of Concrete Experience: The situation in which the society is in today has brought a lot of challenges to parenting. These challenges are increasingly becoming more prevalent because of the characteristics of the society as being sophistication. As long as parenting is in the realm of the society, its implications can hence be overlooked. Accordingly, the societal challenges of parenting greatly vary based on individual. Having the knowledge of these challenges have made me better prepared to seek for means or reacting adequately as to be a good parent.

Parenting effectively in the contemporary society is a very challenging task. Most people have drifted away from the ancient ways of parenting. Today’s children are exposed to all forms of media which tends to influence their moral perceptions. They are also prone to the peer pressure and drug abuse. It is therefore not an easy task to instill discipline or good morals to these children.

Reflection : Today’s parents are expected to work so as to care for their families. They therefore spend most of their time at the workplace and have very little time with the children. It seems as though most of the children today interact more with technology than with their parents.

Children therefore lack role models and they tend to emulate the celebrities. The children today mature faster and become sexually active at a very early age and they are likely to indulge in sexual activities even before their right time comes.

The influence of the society is the main challenge in that as a parent I have been forced to put into consideration the developing norms of the society like allowing my children access to internet and their privacy. Basically, I seek to ensure that as much as I try to uphold social and moral rules, I do not end up exposing my children to negative social influence. As such I encourage religious and moral uprightness.

Generalization/Principles/Theories : a major challenge that parents face is having difficult children. These are the type of children who seem to be very hard to control or offer guidance to. This can spark violence as parents seek to take drastic actions to correct their children. As a parent, I seek to do this job with love and temperament, and natural understanding.

In the contemporary world, teenage parenting is very taxing because the teenagers are ambitious and exposed to too much information because of the societal sophistication in information technology.

This involves a lot of maturity and I strive to warn my teenage son to be careful on what he watches, reads, and the friends he keep. I have made my children know that my role is to shape their future and not jeopardize their well-being.

Because of job demands, I have sometimes failed to attend to what my children do during the day when am not around but I am confident that they would not misbehave on such grounds. I work hard do all the things I deem necessary for my children and I strive to spend much time with them as possible.

Testing and Application : as a single parent, the contemporary society puts much pressure on an individual because naturally, a child needs to have a mother and a father. This is the most prevalent challenge in parenting today because the number of signal parents is increasing and is caused by various reasons.

Children brought up by signal parents are thought to be spoilt and irresponsible because of the imbalance of parenting during their upbringing. I understand the impact of teenage behaviors including peer influence, risk of early sexual behavior, and risk of drug abuse.

As a parent, I learn to stay with my children to help unlearn whatever bad habits they picked from friends or other bad influencers. I use the knowledge of the contemporary challenges to help me find the best ways of responding properly to these challenges.

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IvyPanda . 2018. "Parenting's Skills, Values and Styles." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/parenting/.

1. IvyPanda . "Parenting's Skills, Values and Styles." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/parenting/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Parenting's Skills, Values and Styles." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/parenting/.