Authoritarian Parenting Essay

Authoritarian Parenting and its alternatives:
Authoritarian parenting is a style marked by high parental demands and low responsiveness towards children. According to Berger(2005), “Authoritarian parents are strict and have high expectations from their children, have set rules and expect obedience without questioning and without really explaining their reasoning to their children “. In Authoritarian parenting, parents expect their orders to be obeyed unquestionably and rely on punishment or stern measures to discipline their kids. An example of authoritarian parenting would be parents punishing their children and ignoring their children's feelings and emotions. Blind obedience, discipline, less parental affection and punishments are the cornerstones
of authoritarian parenting. In order to rear well-behaved children, authoritarian parents develop a clear sense of what is right and what is wrong by having a clear and rigid set of rules and expectations that are strictly enforced and require obedience. The rules are decided by the parents themselves and children don’t have any say in that. In fact there is low level of child to parent communication which explains that authoritarian parents do not expect children to offer opinions; discussion about emotions is especially rare (Berger (2011). When the rules are not followed, punishment is most often used to promote future obedience and parents may resort to corporal punishment as well. "Because I said so" is a typical response to a child's question of authority.
Authoritarian parents strive to create an environment that is focused on safety therefore they don’t let the children make decisions on their own and face the consequences for those choices.
Authoritarian parents hover over their kids so that they don't make mistakes. They may even micromanage and set rules in almost every aspect of their children's lives and behaviors. Parents with an authoritarian style have very high expectations of their children, but provide very little feedback and advise. They lack the patience to explain why their children should avoid certain behaviors and don’t talk about feelings either. These parents are more likely to be nagging or shouting at their children rather than offering encouragement and praise. Authoritarian parents may even use shame as a tactic to force children into following the rules because they often believe that shaming would motivate their children to do
better.
On the other hand, authoritative parents encourage kids to be responsible, to think for themselves, and to consider the reasons for rules.
Authoritative parenting is considered high on parental responsiveness and also high on demandingness towards children. "They monitor and impart clear standards for their children's conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Parents expect kids to meet behavioral standards, but also encourage their children to think for themselves and to develop a sense of autonomy. In the view of Baumrind (1971), authoritative parenting is superior to other styles of parenting and authoritative parents raise accomplished, eloquent, happy and kind children.
Permissive parenting is high on parenting responsiveness but low on demandingness thus these types of parents are warm and indulgent but reluctant to enforce rules and they do not like to disappoint or regulate their children. "Permissive Parents are more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). In these families, a child's independence and autonomy are highly valued, and parents tend to rely mostly on reasoning and
explanation.
Uninvolved parenting (Maccoby and Martin 1983): Uninvolved parents are low in both responsiveness and demandingness. Uninvolved parents are like permissive parents in their failure to enforce standards. But unlike permissive parents, uninvolved parents are not nurturing and warm. They have little or no expectation from the child and have no communication with them regularly.
It may be relevant to understand that Baumrind developed her typology for understanding parenting in the United States and the subjects were mostly Caucasians and middle class. Therefore it becomes relevant to ask whether parents actually fit neatly into one of these categories ? It may be relevant to understand first Baumrind developed her typology for understanding parenting in the United States and the subjects were mostly Caucasians and middle class.