What Is the Impact of Parenting Styles on Child Development?
“You probably get this a lot, and I’ve read some articles on the 4 parenting styles, but what in your opinion is the impact of parenting styles on child development?“
This is a great question! As you know from your readings there are four traditional parenting styles: authoritative (warm and demanding), authoritarian (cold and demanding), permissive (warm and not demanding), and neglectful (cold and not demanding). There is extensive research on these four parenting styles and their links with child development. What appears very clearly is that children who have authoritative parents tend to do better in life. In contrast, children who have neglectful parents tend to do the worst.
It seems pretty straight forward, right? This means that if I am always authoritative, my child will turn out fine. Sadly, it is much more complex than that and here are the reasons:
1. Parenting styles explain children’s outcomes to some extent but they are not the only factor explaining how children turn out.
2. If you have noticed, I have said that “children tend to…”. Why? Because even though research shows that authoritative parents tend to have children who do better, we cannot 100% say that all children whose parents are authoritative do well. It is not that simple. Some children with authoritative parents don’t do well at all, and some children with neglectful parents, do very well despite of their upbringing.
3. Parenting styles are not separate containers where parents ‘fall in”. We should think about parenting styles as a continuum. For example, you can be mostly authoritative with a touch of permissiveness.
4. At different stages and circumstances of your life, your parenting style may change. For example, when parents go through stressful situations, they tend to become more authoritarian, their parenting turns harsher.
5. If you have more than one child, it may be that you have a different parenting style with each one of them. Why? Because parents influence their children, but children also influence their parents. Different children provoke different reactions in you and that will influence your parenting.
So, try to be authoritative as often as possible because we know that it is best for our children. But also remember that you won’t always get it right and it is OK. Your child does not need a perfect mother.
Here are some articles on parenting styles you may find helpful:
Parenting Styles: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?
Permissive Parenting Style: Characteristics and Effects
Authoritarian Parenting: What’s It About?
What Is Helicopter Parenting? Characteristics and Consequences
I hope the information helps you and it is what you were looking for.
I wish you all the very best.
Love,
Ana
