5 Parenting Styles and Their Effects on Life

by michellytvynenko
In theory, there are only four styles of parenting.
Authoritarian parents are controlling and demand obedience without considering the child’s
point of view.
Permissive parents are loving, but don’t exert any control.
There are no rules.
Authoritative parents who are firm but loving.
They encourage independence, within limits.
Neglecting parents are uninvolved and often uninterested in their own child.
Recently a 5th style was proposed, but we will come back to that later.
The styles range from controlling and demanding, to complete freedom; and from cold and unresponsive
to loving and receptive.
Each, authoritative, permissive, authoritarian and neglectful parents, have their place.
To understand what it means to grow up with parents from each end of the spectrum, we
can imagine the lives of four children.
Sara's parents are Authoritarian.
They love their girl, but they believe that strict rules are important to make Sara become
well behaved and fit into the society.
If Sara cries, she’s told to stop.
If she talks back, she is sent to the corner for timeout.
If she forgets to take care of her chores around the house, she is not allowed to play
with her toys.
Sara learns that suppressing her emotions and following her duties is the way to get
through the day.
To get the love of her parents, and to avoid making them upset, she becomes obedient.
However, because Sara was never allowed to decide for herself or follow her intrinsic
interests, as an adult, she doesn't know what she really wants.
She begins living a life that seems perfect to her parents and society, but might leave
her unhappy on the inside.
Permissive parents , like those of Peter, love their little boy so much that they believe
they should fulfill all his wishes, give him full freedom and never say “no”.
Peter enjoys full control over his parents and gets whatever he wants.
If he doesn’t want to walk, he’ll be carried.
If he wants ice-cream, ice-cream he gets.
If he wants to play games, he’ll be playing them all night.
Peter grows up completely without borders and does whatever he thinks is right.
He never coped with conflict and he did not learn to control his emotions.
The fact that he always got what he wanted made him a bad loser.
As he grows older he often acts inconsiderate and doesn’t know his limits.
Arthur's Authoritative parents respect their child's needs, but believe that kids need