Parenting Style, description of authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles

Essay by dr.strangeloveHigh School, 12th gradeA+, June 2006

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

Many new parents often question on what is the proper way to raise their children. There are 3 child-rearing practices, Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative. The two forms practiced by the parents in the question are Authoritarian and Authoritative. There are advantages and disadvantages to these two forms of parenting though.

AUTHORITARIAN- parents impose rules and expect blind obedience.

Many people were and still are raised in authoritarian households. Some advantages I can see coming from this are; respect and recognition of authority, well behaved, child doing as they are told immediately, and respect toward others. These are all qualities that are not only instilled in children from authoritarian households but are demanded. On the other side though I can see some negative aspects; child feeling stressed or scared by parents, worrying about not meeting expectations and more worried about consequences, non-questioning, and confused because rules are not explained.

AUTHORITATIVE- Parents are both demanding and responsive. They exert control not only by setting rules and enforcing them but also by explaining the reasons and, especially with older children, encouraging open discussion and allowing exceptions when making the rules.

This is the most common for of child-rearing. The advantages of this are numerous so I will only name a few. Children see parents as friends but also respect them as parents, parents respect the child's input on issues, child becomes closer to parents, and child understands reasoning behind decisions. As for disadvantages I can see two main problems. In a dispute the parent may swing into an authoritarian role. This confuses and angers the child resulting in an escalation in conflict between the parent and the child. Also, the child may see the parents as more of a friend than an authority figure. This could result in...