Monday, December 05, 2011

Parenting Styles

Last month I talked about two children who were beaten to death by their parents. Each of the parents had a copy of the book on parenting, advocating the use of corporal punishment, by Michael and Debi Pearl, founders of “No Greater Joy” ministries. As promised, this article will discuss parenting techniques that research indicates contribute to raising healthy, productive children.

For years the literature has discussed 3 main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive which comes out of the work by Diane Baumrind (1978) and colleagues. Baumrind identified two main dimensions of the parental role: parental acceptance and parental control. It was out of these two dimensions that the parenting styles of authoritarian, authoritative and permissive were identified.

There have been many studies over the years conducted on parenting styles and how this relates to children’s behavior and overall mental health. Again and again research indicates that an authoritative parenting style is the most effective in producing healthier children who exhibit less behavioral problems and have better overall mental health.

Parents with authoritative styles exhibit warmth, are responsive to the needs of their children, provide structure and set appropriate limits. These parents also grant their children age appropriate autonomy. Children raised in homes with authoritative parenting styles exhibit more social competence and have less behavior problems than children whose parents used an authoritarian or permissive style of parenting.

It is not just parenting style however, that predicts children’s adjustment and well-being. Studies now focus on the importance of family relationships and the impact this has on the child’s development and later behavior. Families with poor communication, high levels of conflict and poor affective ties are at an increased risk of having teens with behavior problems.

It’s no wonder some parents use an authoritarian or permissive style of parenting; there is a lot less thinking and work involved. It is much more difficult to parent out of thoughtful behavior than it is to merely react, or in the case of permissive parents, ignore what is going on.

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