Authoritative parenting

Authoritative parenting

Abstract

The different styles of parenting available play a significant role in the growth and development of children in western culture. No one parenting style fits every child, and as such, they should be adapted depending on the child’s and the parents’ personalities. Among the main styles include; authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. In the dominant western culture in the United States, the preferred child upbringing goals include confidence, independence, and social assertiveness, among others. (Choi, Kim, Kim & Park, 2013) Authoritative parenting, as the name suggests, involves parents having more control over their children’s behaviour. The parents intend to promote freedom and independence, but at the same time, exercise a certain level of control on the child. As a result, the children become more mature and responsible at the early stages of their lives. This is done by encouraging accountability which helps the children to respond to different circumstances in life in the best way possible. In general, the style aims at providing an optimum, well-developed child of competence and character. (“Authoritative Parenting”, 2019) Parenting is an important determinant factor in a child’s behaviour since children learn from what they see in their surroundings, as such, parents need to know how to be involved in their lives without being overbearing. When parents are bossy in their children lives, there is a probability of them having mental and anxiety issues as they grow up. (Gere, Villabø, Torgersen & Kendall, 2012) Authoritative parenting is perhaps the most effective style of parenting as it establishes discipline, emotional development, and enhances problem-solving skills among children.

Choi, Kim, Kim, & Park, 2013 research, shows that authoritative parenting promotes close bonds between the parent and the child. By creating firm and clear rules, parents can engage their children employing inductive reasoning, active exploration risk-taking as long as it does not violate the regulations in place. Likewise, the probability of conflict is minimal, which promotes a close bond and reduced conflict. Children brought up using this style ideally have better relationships with their peers and higher academic performance. (Majumder, 2015) Consequently, by instituting core values, a child grows up observing these norms, such as honesty, kindness, and love. They become the foundation of who they grow into in life. (“Authoritative Parenting”, 2019)

Further, authoritative parenting demands high expectations for children. Parents make positive demands and provide explanations to these demands, helping children see their parents’ point of view as well as engage in discussions of what is best for both of them. (“Authoritative Parenting”, 2019) Also, parents have the responsibility to do their level best to provide whatever is needed, including resources for their children to fulfil these expectations. The continuous support that comes with this style of parenting is of great assistance in assisting the children. (Choi, Kim, Kim & Park, 2013) In a sense, the belief is that by applying fair rules, in a warm and nurturing way, as well as effective communication with the child, it sets certain expectations on behaviour and maturity. (Maiuolo, Deane & Ciarrochi, 2019) The level of maturity then transcends as they grow up in how they interact at work, school and the society in general.

Parental authoritativeness, as studies have shown and identified, contributes to better mental health outcomes among children. (Majumder, 2015) In a study done on mental health problems in adolescents, it was found that authoritative parenting had a positive correlation between the parenting style and more significant active coping mechanisms in adolescents. It was attributed to the balance of parental limit setting, support and nurturing. (Maiuolo, Deane, & Ciarrochi, 2019) Authoritative parents provide a balance between the discipline through the rules they set and emotional control by encouraging confident and independence in their children. This is to mean that children at an early stage adapt to active coping mechanisms which in turn promote positive mental health as they can deal with daily stresses

Consequently, there is a belief in punishment to promote discipline. (Choi, Kim, Kim, & Park, 2013) Discipline means doing work orderly per the rules and regulations. When started early in life for a child, they will be early to school, study, do other chores, be respectful to their elders and peers, among other positive attributes. As a result of authoritative parenting, children grow up with high motivation levels, self-driven, and confident. It takes a strict approach to parenting, which aims at creating independence as early as possible in life especially in the western culture, for instance, by contributing to household affairs and moving out of their parents’ houses once they are 18 years.

Parents need to know where to draw the line so as not to be bossy in their children’s life which might be termed as helicopter parenting. (Jung et al., 2019) Authoritative parenting through studies and literature is seen as the most effective method of parenting. However, it is all about attaining a balance so as not to be overbearing.

Higher levels of parental control have been associated with child anxiety. (Gere, Villabø, Torgersen & Kendall, 2012) It is usually characterized by excessive parental regulation of their child’s activities and daily schedule, which affects how their thinking capacity and emotions. Research done on childhood anxiety disorder showed the effects of parenting behaviour as an influencing aspect in a child’s development and future behaviour since it prevents them from dealing with anxiety-provoking situations. (Gere, Villabø, Torgersen & Kendall, 2012) The rationale behind the findings was that when parents are overprotective of their children, it sends the message that the world is a dangerous place leading to anxiety. It was further observed that when children are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There is, however, no certainty that parental control is uniquely responsible for child anxiety disorder. Among the literature available, there is little to no particular study aimed at determining whether overprotective parenting is the sole cause of child anxiety because anxiety and child behaviour problems are both attributed parenting styles. (Gere, Villabø, Torgersen & Kendall, 2012)

Contrary to authoritative parenting, helicopter parenting promotes dependency, which has adverse effects on their lives. Such negative effects include; child’s mental well-being and anxiety. This parenting practice is generally regarded as detrimental to a child’s welfare. Psychological health-related issues become predominant in a child’s life. (Jung et al., 2019) However, some studies have shown that helicopter parenting has no direct correlation with a student’s well-being. For example, studies were done by Lampert (2009), and Reed et al. (2016) conclude that there is no direct association between helicopter parenting and psychological health problems. (Jung et al., 2019)

Contrary to this, further studies have concluded that helicopter parenting sin some instances promotes parent-child relationships. Most students who received helicopter parenting in this study had better psychological adjustment, life satisfaction and high students in their study who grew up with helicopter parenting showed higher levels of life satisfaction, and had more precise and realistic goals. (Jung et al., 2019)

Conclusion

Authoritative parenting though might have a few flaws, is the most effective style of parenting as current and ongoing research has shown over the years. It is beneficial to children upbringing since they grow up with close bonds with their parents due to less confrontation as a consequence of clear rules and limitations. They also gain a sense of accountability, promoting maturity and high expectations, independence, good mental health, as well as the ability to handle stressful situations. The downside to this style has been on determining the balance between being authoritative and overbearing. The lack of balance among parents has led to helicopter parenting and parental control which has had detrimental effects on children’s growth. On the other hand, some studies have refuted a direct correlation between overbearing parenting and issues of mental health and child anxiety. Parents need to establish a balance when administering authoritative parenting on their children to ensure they get a bright future.