¶ … Parenting Styles and their Effect on Children Behavior Different Parenting Styles

This research paper is based on Baumrind's theory of parenting and covers the impact and consequences of different parenting styles on children's development extensively. Four parenting styles named authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved are discussed in detail. This paper also discusses parenting style of Canada, Japan and China in contrast with Baumrind's theory of parenting. All the impacts and influences on parenting style are deeply studied and discussed.

Early years of learning in a child's life is believed to make a significant difference in the way they develop and go on to learn throughout their lives (Kim, 1999). Developmental psychologists have been making research about the role played by parents and its impact on child development. However, developing a cause-and-effect link between parents behavior and brought up and its impact on child behavior and attitude is a relatively tough task. This can be proved from the fact that children who share a home and are brought up in the same environment, under same circumstances may develop a remarkably different personality than one another. A parenting style is a psychological concept based on regular strategies that parents use while raising their children. There are several different theories and concepts about the best and perfect ways to raise a child.

Thesis Statement

Parenting style plays an important role in raising a child. Baumrind's theory about parenting identifies four distinctive parenting styles and is complimented by a well-supported and organized progression of ideas. All these tend to cover different parenting techniques worldwide and have contrast with Baumrind's theory. This research study is about "Different Parenting Styles and their Effect on Children Behavior."

Parenting

Parental responsibilities start soon after the birth and play a significant role and leave an impact on child's overall life. Most of the parents usually develop their own parenting style usually based upon amalgamation of factors such as children's temperament and parenting style influenced by their own upbringing, what they observed in other families, what they have been trained and the surrounding culture. There is no hard and fast rule about parenting. It usually evolves with the passage of time as children grow up and develop their personalities. The quality of parenting is an important influence on children's intellectual, emotional and social development ( Nevid, 2009). How parents put in effort to respond and correct their children greatly impacts how they progress individually and socially. A child's development process is influenced by several factors, for instance, the people and situations he comes into close contact and interaction. Parent's influence is the greatest on a child's development. The positivity as well as negativity in a child's attitude and behavior is because of parents brought up and parenting style.

Parenting Styles

In 1960's a very famous theory about parenting was developed by Diana Baumrind. This theory was based upon three parenting style named authoritative, permissive and authoritarian. Later, another vital factor named uninvolved was added by Maccoby and Martin. Diana adopted a broad and well managed way to study on more than 100 preschool-age children. She used several approaches using naturalistic observation, parental interviews and other research methods. This broad study helped her to figure out and recognize four important aspects of parenting which include disciplinary strategies, warmth and nurturance, communication styles and expectation of maturity and control. The three parenting styles found out by Diana were based upon these dimensions.

Authoritarian Parenting Style

According to authoritarian parenting style, parents expect their children to strictly follow the rules and regulations set by them. Parents tend to punish their children if they fail to obey them. Authoritarian parents fail to give any explanation or reason for the rules imposed by them. If a child asks for explanation, the simple reply is, "Because I said so." Usually these parents are less responsive and have high demands and expectations. According to Baumrind, these parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation" ( Rosenfeld, 2007). Such parents expect complete cooperation from their children and are not at all tolerant about the rules and regulations set by them. They expect maturity on the part of children and are very less interactive with their children. Children of such parents are usually focused in studies and tend to make good grades. They develop the habit of staying out of troubles. A negative impact of this parenting style is that the children are not socially developed as they are never motivated and encouraged to give and develop opinions. They are shy and unconfident,...

This make them less interactive and negatively affect their decision making power.
Authoritative Parenting Style

Second parenting style is known as authoritative parenting. This is a relatively democratic style of parenting as the parents are responsive and receptive towards their children. They are usually willing to respond to the questions of their children. Moreover, they are more encouraging and forgiving parents rather than punishing ones in case the child does not come up to their expectation. Baumrind suggests that these parents "monitor and communicate clear standards for their children's conduct. They are forceful, but not aggressive and restrictive. The disciplinary methods adopted by them are supportive. They want their children to be confident as well as socially responsible ( Rosenfeld, 2007). This style ensures healthy development among children because they are taught to abide by rules and regulations in a positive way. They are allowed to asked questions and develop personal opinions. Children of such parents are socially interactive and confident as they have the habit of developing opinions. They are self-assured.

Permissive parenting style

Third parenting style suggested by Baumrind is known as Permissive parenting. These types of parents are often referred as tolerant parents and they tend to make fewer demands to their children. These parents are less concerned about disciplining their children as they have low expectations of adulthood and self-control. According to Baumrind, permissive parents "are more receptive than demanding. They are less concerned about culture and are soft. They do not require mature attitude, allow significant self-regulation, and avoid conflict" ( Rosenfeld, 2007). They are friendly with their children. Parents in this case intend to be their child's friend then being a disciplinary figure. Parent-children communication is encouraged. Children raised by indulgent parents have developed self-confidence, healthier social skills and lower levels of depression. All these factors in turn develop a positive and optimistic attitude in individuals. The negative impact of such parenting style is that a child's emotional development is harmed and damaged. He does not mature in this area.

Uninvolved parenting

Last category of parenting added by Maccoby and Martin is known as uninvolved parenting. These parents are usually less demanding, less communicative and less responsive. They manage to fulfill the basic needs and necessities of their children but overall, they are less attached to their children. In some cases, these parents are ignorant to the extent that they may even ignore the needs and necessities of their children. Such parents are ambivalent to their child's necessities and desires. They are neglectful about their children. As parents are less demanding and do not intend to make rules for their children, hence children lack communication, encouragement and praise. Children of such parents develop negative features in their personalities and lack confidence. They are not socially active and confident because less compliance demand by parents stunts their social growth. They are never educated about handling different situations, hence cognitive growth is negatively affected.

Impact of Parenting Style of Children's Behavior

These parenting styles have a significant impact on children's psychology. The study of 100 preschool children helped Baumrind to develop the impact of parenting on children. For instance, Authoritarian parenting styles normally result in obedient and respectful children, who are quiet skillful, but they rank lower in happiness and social capability. On the contrary, Authoritative parenting style results in happy and socially capable children. Thirdly, Permissive parenting often results in children who face problems with power and usually show poor and weak performance in school. Lastly, uninvolved parenting styles have the lowest rank among all the categories of parenting. As these children are ignored by the parents so they grow as individuals with less self-control, low self-esteem and are less capable and skilled as compared to their peers.

Another important aspect of parenting style is that the adolescent behavior is an important measure that can have a significant influence on parenting style. For instance, if a child breaks a curfew, both parents adopt a measure to deal with the child in order to enforce an action. Hence, child's behavior has a major influence on the parenting style adopted by parents. A cooperative and motivated child is more probable to have parents who adopt an authoritative parenting attitude. On the other hand, an unhelpful, immature and careless teen may be more expected to provoke a parenting style that is authoritarian or uninvolved parenting style. Overall attitude of the child tends to evolve parenting style of the children. It is commonly practiced on the part of the parents that they…