We’ll gain a complete understanding of the different types of parenting styles in this article. Continue to read.
According to studies by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind in the 1960s and contemporary researchers, there are four distinct parenting philosophies: permissive, authoritarian, uninvolved, and authoritative. The parent or caregiver must demonstrate varying levels of response and demand for each of these.
Psychologists and parenting experts continue to classify the effects of different parenting philosophies on children’s behavior as well as their mental and physical health using these four categories.
The majority of parents and caregivers won’t cleanly fit into one category; instead, they may exhibit characteristics from all four of those groupings. Involved parenting delivers few to no benefits, according to the majority of academics, although these categories do not imply that one approach should be used in every situation. Instead, they give instances of potential outcomes from diverse parenting techniques.
Many parents vary between parenting ideologies depending on the situation. This is both typical and fully expected. In the end, understanding these broad categories and the results may be helpful for parents and other caregivers who seek to enhance their parenting skills and determine how to best support their children.
What Are The 4 Types Of Parenting Styles That Are Most Widely Recognized?
The four parenting philosophies of authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved are the most commonly cited by mental health practitioners today and have been thoroughly researched in terms of their effects on children, according to Dushyanthi Satchi, LCSW.
These classifications, which Diana Baumrind developed in the 1960s, are mainly defined by two characteristics: the level of sensitivity to a kid’s needs and the level of control over the child.
But what about terms from pop culture like “tiger mom,” “helicopter parent,” and “soft parenting”? Other methods have been developed over time by different clinicians, but according to Satchi, the majority of doctors don’t normally use them because there isn’t much evidence to support their effectiveness for children.
What Is Diana Baumrind’s Theory?
According to Baumrind, preschoolers displayed a variety of different behaviors. Each behavior was closely related to a certain parenting approach.
Baumrind contends that parenting techniques have a big influence on how youngsters perform. Depending on parental practices, a child’s growth and outcomes may differ.
She initially distinguished between three parenting philosophies: authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, and permissive parenting, based on extensive observation, interviews, and study.
Despite Maccoby and Martin (1983) using a two-dimensional framework to extend the three parenting-styles paradigms, Diana Baumrind is best recognized for her work on categorizing parenting styles.
They incorporated the permissive and neglectful parenting schools of thinking into Baumrind’s lavish parenting philosophy also known as the uninvolved parenting style.
Diana Baumrind’s parenting styles and Maccoby and Martin’s parenting styles are two other names for these four parenting ideas.
Diana Baumrind Parenting Styles
There are several different types of parenting styles. Your parenting style may have an effect on your child’s behavior and sense of self. Make sure your parenting style encourages healthy growth and development since how you interact with your child and how you discipline her will have an impact on them for the rest of their life.
Have a look at Diana Baumrind’s 4 types of parenting styles:
Authoritarian Parenting
The word authoritarian tells us that the major objective of this parenting approach is to impose authority on all kids. No matter what their parents say, kids have to follow instructions. They also prohibit children from taking on obstacles or tasks that need problem-solving. Instead, when they create rules or impose punishments, they do not take a child’s perspective into account. Parents or other authorities in charge of parental authority may prioritize punishment over instruction. They want to make kids feel bad about their failures, not teach them how to make better decisions. Children of authoritarian parents are more prone to struggle with low self-esteem because of their lack of respect.
Authoritative parenting
The goals of authoritative parents are to achieve a balance between being strict and being kind, helpful, and encouraging. Instead of imposing them out of necessity, authoritative parents will go over expectations and norms with their kids. They make it very apparent who is in charge and still hold children responsible if they disobey. Commonly used kinds of discipline include coaching and setting objectives that provide logical and natural consequences.
Although authoritative parents may set a baby’s feeding and sleeping schedules, they will change them as necessary based on what seems to work best for the youngster. Good parents will have high standards for their child’s health and safety as they enter toddlerhood and will put those standards into practice in a reasonable and loving way. Instead of reading them a new book or taking away a toy if they toss it at you, say goodnight to your child before bed.
Most experts concur that authoritative parenting is a healthy approach for children. According to research, parents who are in control of their children’s behavior are more likely to raise them to be nice, happy, and cooperative as well as interested, independent, and goal-oriented.
Attachment parenting
The attachment parenting idea holds that throughout the first few years of life, young children have a natural need to eat and stay near their primary caregiver. When compared to other parenting strategies, some experts claim that attachment parenting places a specific emphasis on affection and physical contact.
Similar to authoritative parenting, attachment parenting demonstrates to give kids the coping mechanisms and life skills they need to deal with stress and hardship. However, because they always focus on taking care of their children, parents may find the approach problematic because they may fail to recognize their own needs. Due to their reliance on their parents for emotional support, some children of attachment parents may find it challenging to independently adapt to settings when their parents are absent, such as the first day of preschool.
Permissive parenting
Parents who are kind and understanding often have a lax (or inconsistent) approach to regulations and discipline. Kids often behave more like friends than role models. Allowing them to be quite independent and avoid being continuously monitored. Children with laid-back parents typically have fewer obligations to fulfill and less structure in their schedules.
Being permissive with a newborn may entail not establishing feeding or sleeping schedules. It may not be expected of toddlers and preschoolers to tidy up their toys after playing with them, eat whenever they like rather than at set times, or go to bed whenever they please rather than at a specific time.
Parents who are permissive with their children often raise free thinkers who aren’t scared to express their opinions. For instance, this might lead to increased inventiveness. Being told “no” at home helps kids get used to the idea that boundaries apply to every aspect of their outside surroundings. Therefore raising in a family with few restrictions can have some drawbacks.
Free-range parenting
There are several traits that permissive parenting and free-range parenting have in common. Both strategies are flexible and have few rules. The distinction? In contrast to parents who allow their kids to run wild, free-range parents make an effort to teach their kids to be more self-reliant. In essence, it refers to caving into your child’s requests and allowing her to succeed to the extent that you believe she is capable of doing so.
Free-range parenting employs kids of any age, contrary to the widespread belief that it works best with older kids. It might mean letting small toddlers wander aimlessly around strange environments. Parents without restrictions might let their school-age kids play alone in the backyard.
According to research, giving children more independence helps foster resilience in them, preparing them to handle setbacks and disappointments. Free-range parenting also seems to promote excellent problem-solving and creative skills. The main disadvantage? Varied people have different interpretations of the term “free-range.” While sending your 8-year-old to school alone may not disturb you, to others it may be risky or even reckless. Depending on where you live, there might even be laws prohibiting having kids under a certain age handle some duties on their own.
Uninvolved parenting
Uninvolved parents are unable to meet their children’s emotional or physical needs and only give them limited monitoring. Despite the fact that it can appear in a variety of ways, most people can spot distant parenting when they see it. It might involve failing to meet an infant’s fundamental needs, such as food, shelter, and sleep, as well as failing to watch out for potential dangers. Filter what is said around them, and screen the media they expose them to. Thoroughly vet anyone they permit to be around the child or care for them with a toddler.
Nearly all experts agree that distant parenting increases the likelihood that kids will have serious problems. A study found that children with absent parents typically have low self-esteem and may find it difficult to build reliable relationships. Every family is different, and there are a variety of parenting ideas available. Not all parents employ the same techniques; others may combine two or even three of the aforementioned parenting techniques.
Helicopter parenting
Helicopter parenting is the act of parents overprotecting and being overly anxious for their children. A parent who continuously supervises their kids intervenes, control, and engages in every aspect of their lives. They frequently attempt to impose control over the child’s environment and activities, putting pressure on them to meet their standards while also preventing them from coming to their own judgments. This parenting approaches frequently stunts and harms a child’s development.
This parenting style doesn’t seem to fit neatly into any of Baumrind’s categories. Helicopter parents frequently ignore their children’s emotional needs. When the child falls short of their high expectations, these parents step in to provide assistance. This parenting style is therefore pretty similar to an authoritarian one.
Tiger parenting
A strict parenting style is “tiger parenting.” Despite what studies have shown, it appears that Chinese American families frequently use this parenting style. It is distinctive due to a strict set of rules and restrictions. Children raised by tiger parents don’t have a lot of freedom or choice in their environment. The use of emotional abuse, such as humiliation and contempt, to subdue children is common. A good illustration of authoritarian parenting is the “tiger approach.”
Which Parenting Style Is The Most Effective?
The best outcomes for children are consistently linked by decades of research to authoritative parenting. Both psychologists and psychiatrists agree that the most successful parenting strategy is authoritative parenting. Over 25 years have gone by since various nations began examining this classification of parenting styles. Results are largely consistent across all parenting philosophies. However, certain areas still have large differences and outliers.
How Do Parents Influence Their Childs Behavior
Parents have a big impact on how their kids act. Parents must set an example for their children. Negative role models can stunt a child’s development and encourage bad behavior.
Social Skills Count
Antisocial children emulate their parents’ behavior, according to research from the University of Chicago that was published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Saying “please” and “thank you” politely as well as speaking in front of huge crowds of people are all examples of social skills. Children imitate and absorb the action of their own parents.
A Stressed-Out Legacy
The attitude of a parent will be picked up by the child if they react negatively. The negative reactions of adults to stress, such as yelling and striking out, might terrify a young child. Children can learn to suppress their feelings, and some can even think that they are to blame for the stress. Children who experience positive stress management learn that their parent’s love for them persists no matter what they go through.
Keep Discipline Positive
The way a parent corrects their children has a big influence on how they act. Physically punishing a child, such as by spanking him, is not teaching the child how to change his behavior, according to research. Children who are physically punished can react violently. The use of alternative forms of discipline by the parents, such as time-outs, helps to calmly change the child’s bad behavior.
Fighting Frenzy
If parents disagree respectfully and maturely, a child could gain insight into how conflicts are handled. Fighting, both verbal and physical, is very upsetting to children. Children may go through the trauma that lasts for years and feel responsible for the arguments between their parents. Children who have low self-esteem may grow hostile toward other children. They are from dysfunctional families grow up to be dysfunctional people. Children frequently exhibit the same behavior in future relationships.
Child Abuse Destroys
Child abuse results in a range of detrimental and antisocial behaviors. This is because children who have been mistreated try to deal with and understand their circumstances. Children of violent parents may grow up to be angry and violent, struggle in school, or even make their selves involve in drugs or alcohol. Parents who abuse their children offer them the exact opposite of what they need to grow up healthy. They instead ruin the internal and external worlds of a youngster.
The Effects Of Bad Parenting On Children
According to a study, parents usually underestimate their capacity to influence their offspring. Poor parenting doubles a child’s propensity for misbehavior. Children might suffer from uneven parenting methods, insufficient supervision, and physical punishment regardless of their ethnicity or socioeconomic status.
Antisocial Behavior
A child who engages in antisocial behavior doesn’t think through the consequences of her actions. According to the research, extreme antisocial behavior can result in adult criminality, unemployment, bad health, alcohol and drug misuse, and mental health issues. Parenting styles including inconsistent and strict discipline, parental drug use, maternal depression, and marital violence can all contribute to this type of behavior. Children with antisocial inclinations are more likely to produce adults who are lenient, coercive, negative, and critical.
Poor Resilience
The ability to overcome social, emotional, behavioral, physical, and academic challenges refers to as resilience. Children of parents who lack resilience are more likely to lack resilience themselves. In this sense, bad parenting involves not teaching a child coping mechanisms, failing to cushion the negative effects of a child’s crises, and failing to respond when a child is in need. A parent’s rigidity, poor capacity for change management, or inability to manage negative emotions in a healthy way can all contribute to a child’s lack of resilience.
Depression
Negative parenting, in the opinion of Stanford University professor Eleanor E. Maccoby, Ph.D., is linked to both internalizing behavior and unhappiness in children. Danielle H. Dallaire and colleagues found that strict and negative parenting behaviors were linked to depressive symptoms in kids in their study The article was titled “Relation of Positive and Negative The article was titled “Parenting to Children’s Depressive Symptoms” and it was published in the National Institutes of Health magazine. Low levels of social support, depressive parents, physical punishment, incorrect expression of unpleasant feelings, and a lack of emotional support are additional variables that may lead to childhood depression.
Aggression
Researchers at the University of Minnesota discovered that the explosive kindergarteners they studied had tense relationships with their moms from an early age, according to Rick Nauert, Ph.D. The study’s authors came to the conclusion that infantile violence was caused by poor parenting. The moms who participated in the study verbally attacked their children, got into intense arguments with them, and otherwise treated them roughly. Participants in the study reported “higher degrees of rage” as a result of their bad parenting, which the researchers claim made the moms more aggressive. There was no investigation of the mother-father dynamic and how it might have affected the mother’s emotions or behavior.
Final Thoughts
No parent is flawless; there is no such thing. Don’t let it discourage you if there are situations or times when you tend to be permissive or uninvolved but other times when you’re more authoritative. Sometimes it’s difficult for parents to fit into one group. Maintaining consistency while juggling family life is challenging. Do not feel guilty or ashamed about having children. Nobody would benefit from that.
The ideal parenting approach, according to research, is authoritative parenting. There are steps you may take to become a more authoritative parent, even if you tend to identify more with alternative parenting styles.
You might preserve your authority and a positive relationship with your child if you put up the time and effort required to be the best parent you can be. Your child will benefit in the long run from your tough guidance.
We sincerely hope that our article about different types of parenting styles was informative to you.
FAQs
Which of Baumrind’s Parenting Styles is the Most Effective Parenting Style?
An authoritative parenting style is regarded to be the most effective. Children raised using these parenting practices grow up smart and moral. Additionally, children reared in this way learn the value of achievement and collaboration with both adults and peers.
How did Diana Baumrind Study Parenting Styles?
Baumrind and her research team conducted observations, analyses, and interviews to ascertain the various parenting ideologies. Some of the aspects looked at included communication methods, disciplinary strategies, communication styles, and maturity and control expectations.
Why is Baumrind’s Authoritative Parenting Style the Most Effective?
The competence and self-confidence of children tend to increase when parents establish high but fair and consistent standards for their behavior, communicate clearly with them, are loving and attentive to their needs, and use reason rather than force to change their behavior. While staying unobtrusive and demonstrating interest in their activities, this style of parenting enables children to make mistakes that they may learn from.
What is Diana Baumrind best known for?
Research by Baumrind has had a substantial positive impact on parenting and developmental psychology. Additional study has supported her findings, and her work continues to have an impact on contemporary parenting practices. She conducted studies in the 1960s and 1970s that have influenced everything from professional parenting advice to successful strategies for child punishment.
How many Parenting Styles did Diana Baumrind identify?
Diana Baumrind identifies 4 types of parenting.
- Permissive.
- Authoritative.
- Neglectful.
- Authoritarian.
Which Parenting Style is Most Encouraged in Modern America?
The authoritative parenting approach is the one that is most supported in contemporary American society out of the four Baumrind parenting theories.