Parenting Styles: Discussion Board Four

Discussion Board Four

            The four parenting styles that are outlined in the text is authoritarian/disciplinarian, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritative. The way in which a person chooses to parent is crucial when it comes to parent-child relationships, how children interact with others, and how they will navigate in the world.

            Authoritarian/disciplinarian parenting is when there are high expectations, strict, lack of open communication, and punishes rather than disciplines the child (Ashford et al., 2016, p. 200). This parenting style is fairly common across different cultures. A study conducted in Spain, Portugal and Brazil linked this style of parenting to extremely low self-esteem. Although, traditionally, scholars recommended the use of strictness along with warmth as the best parenting strategy, mainly based on research conducted with middle class European-American families; present findings suggest that the strictness component might not be necessary (Martinez et al., 2020, para. 4). When a parent shows parental warmth instead of strictness, the child is more likely to show higher self-esteem. For example, in certain cultures academic self-esteem is noticeably higher than in other cultures.

            The other side of authoritative parenting is when there is open communication, discipline through guidance, boundaries are set, and the child is nurtured and shown affection (Ashford et al., 2016, p. 200). Children who have authoritative parents tend to have high self-esteem and are well-structured. They know how to manage their emotions and open to communicating with others.

            Permissive parenting is one that is nurturing, affectionate, few or inconsistent boundaries, and more of a friendship (Ashford et al., 2016, p. 200). This parenting style can be extremely harmful to children because there is no structure. Parenting styles that provide either no autonomy or unlimited autonomy for children would negatively influence children’s mental health (Lo et al., 2020, para. 1.4). Children in these environments tend to suffer from anxiety because there is no guidance and how to effectively navigate through their emotions.

            The last parenting style is uninvolved parenting. Uninvolved parenting is when the parent(s) are/is emotionally detached, self-absorbed, inconsistent or no boundaries, and little interaction (Ashford et al., 2020, p. 200). Children who have uninvolved parents struggle to foster relationships with others and may lack basic life skills. According to Alka (2020) compared to authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting children, uninvolved parenting children have a significantly higher chance of having poor hygiene (p. 7)

            My parents used an authoritative parenting style. They had appropriate boundaries in place, and properly addressed us when we crossed those boundaries. For example, my mom grew up in a permissive parenting household because she was raised by a single mother after my grandfather became uninvolved. My grandmother wanted her children to like her and ultimately be the “cool parent.” My father on the other hand grew up in an authoritarian/uninvolved household. His father was extremely strict, and his mother didn’t bother to pay him much attention. Out of four children, my father received the least amount of attention and nurturing, while the others had a nurturing environment.  

            After listening to my parents recounter their struggles due to parenting, I realized that they set boundaries and expectations out of love because their parents did not do that for them. Growing up in an authoritative household has molded me into the person that I am, and I would feel comfortable with utilizing this same style when I have children.

References

Alka. (2020, April 7). Role of parenting on personality development of children. International Journal of Home Science. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/64415547/6-3-2-628-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1634013715&Signature=XW7ID0Bg8M1A4ufRNZK~dpEDH1f0U2HOnAL2ayISnGleaTMRFaw8GGeAYK0Jff1dEKHuXB1B8UAu1G7xdQVIwLyq~f6~V9p4rj1kYiIq6KNGfgoheJ9ZrfPK~T08uKIafNOy0nirFlwteySRT~VlkoR-heMJLoorVcKH0xCxAvi1FMK2U3fpktZa9O0iOOUM11Geyuj9bEI6Ubbz4WJuKRD1Rn8pn6CPfpNFoYfT7znw1CRGVW80uEncjlBLP8zaAGUpQuhoYxNkz-xJc4VntMHOK8XuqSplb3EuGX4lsNLrblvNSVwfazisroNksK1dI5QT1mOYCvJ-CMsJUSzFcA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Ashford, J. B., PhD Associate Director School of Social Work Jose B Ashford, & LeCroy, C. W. (2012). Human behavior in the social environment: A multidimensional perspective. Wadsworth Publishing Company. 

Lo, B. C., Lai, N. M., Ng, T. K., & Wang, H. (2020). Worry and permissive parenting in association with the development of internet addiction in children: A survey study (Preprint). https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.24223

Martinez, I., Garcia, F., Veiga, F., Garcia, O. F., Rodrigues, Y., & Serra, E. (2020). Parenting styles, internalization of values and self-esteem: A cross-cultural study in Spain, Portugal and Brazil. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2370. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072370