Parenting Styles

Parenting Styles

ECE355 Understanding Behavior and Family Dynamics
Nancy Edwards
May 20, 2012

Abstract When our children are born they are not given to us with instructions on what is the right way of parenting. The ways of parenting come in different forms, and as each child grows and develops different, parents raise each child differently. In this paper I will analyses two parenting styles, authoritarian and uninvolved parents. These two parenting styles are as different as night and day. In this paper we will learn just what the difference are and how they affect the child. Do these parenting styles affect the child’s behavior in the classroom? These are the questions that will be answered in the paper and in hopes that we can understand more about parenting and the effects on children. Parenting Styles They say that the hardest job in the world is being a parent, and I tend to agree with that statement. Parenting is a complex job that includes specific behaviors. These specific behaviors work individually and also together to help shape our children’s lives and what outcomes may be. There are many different things that we do as parents that influence our children, from reading a book with them, or spending time with them, or maybe watching them participate in extracurricular activities. All these things that we do will affect a child’s development. To love a child is to teach a child to love. Diana Baumrind’s concept of parenting, that parenting styles are used to capture normal variations in the parents attempt to control and socialize their children (Baumrind 1991). Even though parents may differ as how to discipline or teach their children and differ as to the extent at which occurs, one thing still remains; a parent’s primary goal is to influence, teach, and control their children (Darling 1999). As a parent we are consider to be either a responsive parent or a demanding parent. Parental responsiveness (also referred to as parental warmth or supportiveness) refers to "the extent to which parents intentionally foster individuality, self-regulation, and self-assertion by being attuned, supportive, and acquiescent to children’s special needs and demands" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Parental demandingness (also referred to as behavioral control) refers to "the claims parents make on children to become integrated into the family whole, by their maturity demands, supervision, disciplinary efforts and willingness to confront the child who disobeys" (Baumrind, 1991, pp. 61-62). When we look at the two specific types of parenting styles authoritarian and uninvolved, we see that authoritarian is described as parents being highly demanding and directive, but the parents are not responsive. They expect to be obeyed without any explanations to the child, They provide the child with a well ordered and structured environment that has very clear rules that are not to be broken without consequences. These types of parents can be either intrusive in their child’s lives or non-intrusive. Uninvolved parents are low in their responsiveness to their children. They show very little in the way of interest in their child’s lives and also show very little to no attention to the child in the way of love and affection. This parenting style in the extreme can cause neglectful and often rejecting parents, even though most parents are found within the normal range of parenting. The difference between those two types of parenting is that one set, the authoritarian parent is involved too much in the child’s life where as an uninvolved parent’s do not seem to pay attention to what their child is doing. The parenting a child receives helps shapes their social skills, can affect their academic grades, psychosocial development and can cause behavior problems. Adolescents whose parents are authoritarian and demanding are often more socially competent than that of adolescents who parents are not involved in their lives. Adolescents of uninvolved perform poorly in school. Quite the opposite is the fact the authoritarian parents children often have lower self-esteem and higher depression rates but less behavior problems than children of uninvolved parents. The benefits of authoritarian parenting as well as the parenting of uninvolved parents will be evident throughout a child’s life from preschool through adolescence into early adulthood.
Conclusion
Parental responsiveness and parental demanding are both components of good parenting and both parenting styles are a part of a child life in varying degrees and environments. They reach across all types of socioeconomic and diverse communities of children. Authoritative parenting is the most consistent in building a child’s confidence in themselves and the world around them from childhood to early adulthood. No matter how we choose to raise are children we must remember that our chose of parenting will affect the child for the rest of life.

References Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95. Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113(3), 487-496 Darling, N. (1999). Clearing House on Elementary and Early Childhood Education: Parenting Styles. Retrieved on May 20, 2012 from http://www.athealth.com/Practitioner/ceduc/parentingstyles.html

References: Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95. Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113(3), 487-496 Darling, N. (1999). Clearing House on Elementary and Early Childhood Education: Parenting Styles. Retrieved on May 20, 2012 from http://www.athealth.com/Practitioner/ceduc/parentingstyles.html