What is The Best Parenting Style & Why?

What parenting styles result in successful kids? Parenting style has a lot of impact on raising a responsible and successful person. What is the best parenting style and which one should you choose? Find out about the main parenting styles and their consequences.

There is no one-size-fits-all parenting style when it comes to raising kids. The adults often consult the parenting forums, where you can read about cool baby stuff in order to find the best way to raise a successful and responsible person. Still, whenever there is an issue with a child’s behavior, the parents are the first to blame. Do we really have that much influence on our child’s future and behavior?

The 4 Styles of Parenting

While genetics and personality traits are also important, the parenting style is one of the key factors that influence a child’s success.

There are four main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.

Let’s discover the disciplinary strategies of every approach and find out what consequences it may have.

Authoritarian Style

Authoritarian parenting style includes a lot of control, strict rules, and harsh punishment if a certain rule is broken. The logical explanations are usually omitted, and everything is reasoned by the phrase “because I told you so”. The expressions of love are rare and used in moderation only when the child meets the expectations of the parents.

The advantage of this style is that it makes the child obedient and well-behaved as the boundaries are clear. A child’s obedience is not always an indicator of good parenting skills.

The lack of appreciation leads to a low level of a child’s happiness. It also causes low self-esteem and poor social competence. As the child’s emotional needs are not fulfilled, this person may face anxiety, depression, bullying, or alcohol abuse in the future.

Authoritative Style

The authoritative parents also set clear rules but they also give logical explanations. This makes them more supportive and non-punitive. They encourage children to participate and create the rules together.

The child’s questions and objections are always considered.

The absence of punishment and reasonable discipline encourage children to be more independent. It helps to effectively develop self-control and self-confidence. These qualities give children the potential to become a leader and a happy person.

Permissive Style

Permissive parents are supportive and loving but they do not create any rules. The parents interact a lot with their children and accept any kind of behavior. This may seem simple parenting but it is not very effective. The parents seem to be more like friends than parents.

As there are no demands the children do not always know what expectations should be met. It helps to develop creativity and independence. At the same time, the child is not able to follow any regulations and control the emotions because of the lack of disciple. They may become demanding and get upset when they do not get what they want.

Uninvolved Style

Uninvolved parents are not very close to their children. They usually care about the child’s basic needs like food, clothes, and shelter. However, they forget about communication and guidance. It may be the results by high stress, financial issues, and overworking. Luckily, parenting support groups may help to improve the situation.

An uninvolved parenting style is considered to be the most dangerous for the child. In this case, children basically raise themselves. No wonder they fail to follow the rules and behave. Neglecting parenting also causes low self-esteem, poorly developed communication skills, and low self-control.

In Conclusion

It is not hard to realize that the authoritative parenting style is considered to be the most effective for raising a successful child. However, the science of parenting is not easy. Different situations may demand different approaches and there is no harm in mixing parenting styles. Try to be flexible and find what works best for your child.

photo source | adobe

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