Three Parenting Styles

Let's examine these 3 parenting styles more closely.

1. The Authoritarian Parent

These types of parents are like army commanders. They prefer to issue commands and orders to their children and fully expect their children to carry out their orders without questioning them.

Authoritarians do not welcome nor do they appreciate any feedback from their children. They live by set and defined rules in a structured environment. The children are generally considered to have an unhappy nature about them.

Boys generally exhibit hostile behaviour when dealing with frustration, whereas girls tend to give up easily when faced with difficult situations. Both the boys and girls however, tend to perform better in school due to their disciplined upbringing.

2. The Authoritative Parent

Authoritative parents while expecting their children to behave in a certain manner, by setting limits and enforcing rules, don't impose their authority and they do welcome a certain amount of questioning.

Their self-confidence is more developed and they seem to be more sure of their abilities. These children also show better emotional control and are more adept in their social skills.

Gender stereotypes are also less of an issue with authoritative parents, as they tend to be more open minded in their outlook towards their children's behaviour, i.e. boys playing with dolls and girls playing with tools.

3. The Permissive Parent

The last of the three parenting styles is permissive parenting. Generally, they are very lenient. They will allow a variety of behaviours by their children, often just shrugging off any unwanted behavior rather than dealing with it.

Essentially, they let their children do pretty much whatever they please. Permissive parents have been described as non-directive or democratic. They are known to parent by default, that is, they virtually take no action in the parenting of their children.

These parents are the most likely to be irresponsible and some would say that they are often neglectful of their children.

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