There are various parenting styles, and the one you utilize will help shape the adult your child will become. The actions you take, the decisions you make, the discipline you enforce, and the confidence you build will all play a critical role in their development.
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Parenting Styles
There are four well-recognized parenting styles that have been observed and studied, and the research surrounding the outcome of these styles directly correlates to the parent’s behavior. The parenting style you associate with your style is a reflection of your own upbringing, life experiences, trauma, and culture.
By learning about the different parenting styles, you can begin to recognize your own strengths and limitations, making corrections along the way to help implement the best outcome for your children.
Authoritative
This is considered the best parenting style, as parents are considered to be reasonable, have appropriate boundaries for their children, and engage in positive communication.
Children raised this way tend to be the most well-adjusted, perform well in social situations, and know how to properly regulate and manage their emotions. These children also perform better in a school setting.
Authoritarian
In this form of parenting, the parent acts as the dictator, setting strict and fast boundaries, and does not allow for input from the child. Being highly regulated but unheard of can lead to more negative outcomes.
This form of parenting leads to well-behaved children in public due to fear of punishment but can result in aggressive children who have difficulty in social situations.
Permissive
This form of parenting is where the parent is more interested in being a best friend than a parent. They have little to no rules or expectations, rarely implementing any disciplinary action.
Children raised this way tend to have poor diet, health, sleep, technology, and school habits. While these children are okay in social environments, they lack self-control and are often selfish.
Uninvolved
Parents with this style have limited to no attachment to their children and are rarely involved. While they meet the basic needs of their child, there is no additional support.
Children raised in this style tend to be extremely self-sufficient out of necessity but struggle in school and with healthy relationships.
Creating Better Outcomes
There are many steps that can be taken to change your parenting style, especially if you see negative characteristics in yourself.
One of the most important things for children is consistency. While this can be difficult, it is helpful for children because boundaries are understood. Of course, these boundaries must also be created with rules, and you should give your children a good explanation of why those rules are beneficial.
While rules are important, consider your child’s input in establishing them. By being willing and open to their viewpoint, concerns, and fears, you will breed a more respectful and love-filled environment. When you listen to your children, they will feel seen.
How to Foster Positive Independence
It can be challenging to adopt better parenting styles and create healthy boundaries. This is especially true for anxious parents. While the latchkey children of the past found themselves unsupervised, parents today have become increasingly anxious for the safety and well-being of their children.
Due to the immense amount of information people have, especially compared to past generations, parents have become wary of allowing their kids to explore their environments.
What was once considered normal has now been termed free-range parenting. This type of parenting strives to foster safe independence. Nurturing this independence can benefit your child, and finding age-appropriate ways to achieve this can help grow your child’s confidence, problem-solving skills, and social skills as they learn to interact with others without the supervision of a parent.
The age of your child will dictate the different ways you can teach this independence. For an anxious parent, allowing your child to play outside with neighbor friends can create fear – don’t let this fear paralyze you.
Instead, give your child more independence by providing them with a custom key chain, house key, and Apple air tag to track them, if necessary.
Conclusion
By continuing to self-assess your parenting style and your children’s capabilities, you can create an ideal upbringing for your child. The parenting game is hard, but remember, you are capable of change.
As you implement safe and positive changes, everyone will benefit.
Featured Image by Kevin Phillips from Pixabay
