3 Types of Parenting Styles

Every parent in today’s world is different in his or her own way. Every parents has their own way of parenting and disciplining their child. Their are three basic types of parenting styles that every parenting style can typically fall under. The three different parenting styles include authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive styles. Every parent does not just sit down and pick a style in which they parent but it is based more on how they were brought up and parented them selves. Their lifestyles as a child and even their childhood role models may have had an impact on how and which style they “choose” to parent their own. These three different parenting styles are very different but they are also all very important in a child’s up bringing. I personally think the best parenting style would be a combination of all three; authoritarian, authoritative and permissive.
Every parent wants their child to grow up in society as a mature and contributing individual. This could be very difficult for a parent to figure out just the correct type of parenting style that will turn their child into contributing attributes to the society.
Authoritarian parenting is when the parents are very strict. They have a high number of rules, and they handle disobedience by yelling, blaming, or threatening the child. They set very strict rules to follow but will not give explanation as to why to follow the rule. They are very demanding and do not show much warmth. They so not give a child options or choices. The child will typically listen to this because of fear and not necessarily because they want to do good, they are just afraid of what will happen if they don’t do as told. A child living in an authoritarian household doesn’t particularly learn to think for him or herself or make good very wise decisions. This is because they never get to decide what they want to do or what they think is right. This is a result from being afraid to make decisions in fear that if they make the wrong decision they will be yelled at are extremely punished for their choice in action. These children who are brought up this way will more often than not become extremely rebellious in their teenage years because they will resent the fact that they were not able to think and choose for themselves. When a child turns into a teenager they begin to see things different. When you are suddenly as tall or taller than your parents that fear factor they had when you were younger starts to disappear so they believe that they can now disobey you because you can no longer bully them by using your size and weight to scare them. The biggest problem that I see with authoritarian parenting style is that they set the rules that need to be followed but never explain why they need to be. If you tell a child not to run around with sharp objects in their hands they will want to even more because they just think your trying to tell them what to and not to do. If you explain to them that running around with sharp objects in their hands could potentially harm them and you do not want to see them get hurt then the child would be more likely to follow that rule.
Authoritative parenting is believed to be the best type of parenting with the best outcome. Authoritative parents will listen to their children and encourage them to be independent. They are strict like authoritarian parents but they explain their reasoning’s and the consequences to their actions are fair. They are warm and nurturing parents. A big part of why this is such a great parenting style is because of the fact that they give their child options, choices and they explain everything. The consequences are always fair, explained and are consistent every time. As opposed to authoritarian parenting style the authoritative parent is understanding and listens to the child’s explanation as to what they did and why they did it. When a child who was raised by and authoritative parents grows up they tend to be much happier. They can control their emotions and express themselves. They are socially accepted and also accepts others. They are confident in their abilities and are always open to learning new skills and confident when a new problem may arise. This particular type or parenting works because the child has a role model to follow. The parent acts the exact way they expect their child to act.
I am the youngest of three children. My parents raised my older brothers with an authoritarian approach and they do lack the self confidence. One of my brothers is twenty-eight and is still having a very difficult time with being respectful to those with authority. When my parents were raising me I can look back and realize that they raised me with and authoritative approach. I am confident in myself and I always respect others around me even when they are not respectful towards me.
Permissive parenting is the last type of parenting I mentioned. I believe that parents who use permissive type parenting were either raised in the permissive matter or were raised by an authoritarian approach. Permissive parents are often nurturing and warm towards their children. The child sees the parent more as a friend than an authority figure. The parent places very few expectations on the child and the household rules almost do not exist. They rarely discipline their child and do not have expect maturity and growth from the child. Permissive parents will avoid confrontation at all costs including in their daily life and with their children. A parent that follows this approach would rather bribe the child with money, candy or toys to get them to obey you rather than be stern with the child. The future outcome of a child who is raised in the permissive parenting lifestyles is one that is not very confident. They will be very demanding when they grow up and will certainly lack self discipline. They will think that everyone will do whatever they need whenever they need it done. When a child does not have these guidelines to follow their future is not set up to be a successful one. They may engage in drugs and alcohol because they never had any expectations put on themselves as so how they should act in social situations.
Every parent really needs to evaluate their expectations of their child. If they really do want their child to grow up to be respectful and a contributing aspect of their generation then they need to make sure their parenting style is the best fit. When every major authority figure in the child’s life is on the same page with a strict understanding of expectations then that will be the recipe for a successful up bringing for their child. Every child is different and every style of parenting can be adjusted to fit the needs of the family. The three styles I listed and explained are just the major outlines. With a combination of all three styles and a littler personalization to fit the child's needs there is no reason a particular child can not exceed societies expectations of a well rounded human.