Parenting Styles and How It Affects Academics
Introduction
There are various types of parenting styles. Authoritative, neglectful, permissive, authoritarian, or a mix of both. Either way, the type of discipline parents choose, will affect a child’s development greatly. This will continue throughout adulthood, influencing mood and behavior. Each of the different parenting styles have different techniques that help them differentiate from each other.
Authoritarian Parenting
“Because I said so.” This phrase best summarizes authoritarian parenting. These types of parents expect children to follow the rules and not to question (Morin, 2016, para. 5). They enforce very strict rules and children have no room for negotiation. Characteristics of authoritarian parents are that they are strict, demanding, lack nurturing skills, and do not allow children to voice their opinion (Morin, 2016, para. 6). Authoritarian parenting is considered the most controlling style of them all.
These types of parents typically prefer using punishments and negative feedback. For example, these parents are often advocates of spanking and yelling at their child. It is also common for authoritarian parents not to provide an explanation for punishments (Morin, 2016, para. 2). This is one of the big differences between authoritarian and authoritative parents. Authoritative parents, provide reason why an action is bad and use consequences rather than authoritarian parents. Authoritarian are more focused on negative actions rather than rewarding positive behavior (Dewar, n.d., para. 8).
The effects on a child having an authoritarian parent are long lasting. One of the common effects are that they connect factors like obedience and success to achieve what they think is love. These children tend to be more aggressive or shy towards others. This may be because they have a low self-esteem and lack social skills due to the continuation of learning obedience. These children are also at a higher risk of depression and anxiety occurring, because they are at a constant pressure by their parents. They also may never learn to self-explore or be independent, because they were always taught to stay in the lane.
Authoritative Parents
While on the other hand, there are authoritative parents. These parents are much more supportive and provide guidance to their children, and they have much more reasonable demands. Authoritative parenting is considered the most effective type of style (Cherry, 2016a , para. 5). The result is that children will learn how to be independent, form their own opinion, develop strong social skills, and build confidence in themselves (Cherry, 2016a, para. 5).
When it comes to punishment, they are strict, but understandable. They allow their child to explain the situation and take it into account when deciding a punishment. Also, they inform the child why they are getting in trouble rather than dismissing them. The consequences are also fair and consistent. Not only do t...
