Parenting Style RL
Parenting Style
Parenting style refers to the way in which parents choose to raise their children (Boundless.com). Parents’ way of parenting is an important factor in their children’s development. Baumrind identified three initial parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Later Maccoby and Martin expanded Baumrind’s work and added the uninvolved or neglectful parenting style.
Authoritative parenting style. Authoritative parenting is generally
regarded as the most successful approach to parenting because of its high level of involvement and balanced levels of control. Parents of authoritative parenting set realistic expectations and consistent limits for their children. They provide them with fair or natural consequences. Natural consequences are those that occur as a natural result of the child's behavior with no intervention required. In authoritative parenting, parents express warmth and affection wherein they listen to their child's point of view. They provide opportunities for independence. These parents set rules and explain the reasons behind them. They are also flexible and willing to make exceptions to the rules in certain cases. A study done by Weiss and Schwartz (as cited in Terry, 2004), based on the four typologies, consistently yielded results indicating that parenting styles can enhance or diminish acceptable behavioral outcomes in children. In previous studies, authoritative parenting has been autonomy, and selfesteem as well as better problem solving skills, better academic performance, more selfreliance, less deviance, and better peer relations.
Authoritarian parenting style. In authoritarian parenting style, parents
put a high value on conformity and obedience. They are often strict, tightly monitor their children, and express little warmth. These parents exhibit a large amount of control over their child's decisions and behavior. They set rigid rules with firm consequences and they expect obedience at all times. In contrast to authoritative parenting style, the authoritarian style has been linked with negative behavioral outcomes including aggressive behavior, decreased emotional functioning, depression and lower levels of selfconfidence (Terry, 2004).
Permissive parenting style. In permissive parenting, parents tends to
be warm and loving but lacks followthrough on setting limits or rules. They tend to be overindulgent, make few demands, rarely use punishment, and allow their children to make their own decisions, regardless of the consequences. They tend to be very nurturing and loving and may play the role of friend rather than parent. These parents might be caught up in their own lives and therefore inattentive, although not neglectful, and exhibit little control over their children.
Uninvolved or neglectful parenting style. In uninvolved or neglectful do not respond to their child’s needs and make relatively few demands. This could be because of severe depression, substance abuse, or other factors such as the parents’ extreme focus on work. They may look to their children for support and guidance, and these children often end up "parenting their parents." These parents may provide for the child’s basic needs, but little else; in more extreme forms of neglect, basic needs may not be cared for at all or children may be placed in harmful situations. In uninvolved parenting style, children tend to look for acceptance in other places and associate with peer groups with similar family backgrounds. Also, if family environments fail to provide structure, then child conduct problems are more likely to be maintained or worsen (Terry, 2004). The neglectful parenting style has been related to future delinquency and aggression. Poor supervision, neglect, and indifference are all indulgent parental practices that play a crucial role in engaging in future delinquency.
Many researchers have found a clear relationship between parenting style and the behavioral outcomes of children, other studies have found that there is no clear relationship between parenting style and child psychopathology (Terry, 2004). Thus, it is important to note that the influence of parenting style is often moderated by a number of variables such as temperament, the age of the child, religiosity, and family structure or cohesion.
Parenting style received
In most if not all cultures, parenting is seen as an integral social role with great influence on the lives of children and of parents themselves (Ochoa & Torre, n.d.). Although all parents influence their children through similar avenues, the ultimate effect on the child differs on parenting style.
Research suggests that children raised by authoritarian parents tend to become authoritarian themselves, both in their interpersonal relationships and as parents (Murphy & Johnson, 2011). Authoritative parents give their children increasing levels of independence as they mature and this leads to higher leadership potential in the children. Their social skills, selfcontrol, and self reliance are more highly developed. These qualities make them ideal employees, leaders, and life partners. Permissive parenting style often leads to higher levels of creativity in children, but there is little selfcontrol, few boundaries, and a sense of entitlement. Children of neglectful parents often have trouble following rules, because there has been few rules and little adherence to rules in their upbringing. Children of neglectful parents can have behavior problems due to lack of selfcontrol. Communication skills may also not fully develop.
At one time, and in some cultures still, parents were advised to imposed strict discipline along the lines of such adages as “Spare the rod and spoil the child” and “Children should be seen and not heard” (Santrock, 2005). Though, attitudes toward children and how best to parent them have changed to encompass more nurturing and caring. However, some says in contrast. In a provocative book, The Nurture Assumption (as cited in Santrock, 2005) Judith Harris argues that parents do not make a difference in their children’s behavior. Even parents spank them, hug them, read to them and ignore them; she says it will not influence how they turn out. She argues that children learn from many sources and that their learning is specific to certain context. Although children imitate their parents to learn how to behave at home, they imitate other people to learn how to behave outside the home. Not everyone agrees with Harris’ view and say that she is wrong of saying that parents do not matter. They argue that Harris ignored research studies documenting the importance of parents in children’s development. For example, many studies reveal that, when parents abuse their children, the children have problems in regulating their emotions, in becoming securely attached to others, in developing competent relations and in adapting to school. Such children develop anxiety and depression disorders.
McFadyenKetchum, Bates, Dodge, and Pettit conducted longitudinal studies on motherchild interactions and child aggressive or disruptive behavior from kindergarten to third grade, in order to explore the predictors of the intent and the levels of aggressive behaviors (as cited in Abu Al Rub, 2013).
They conducted observations of motherchild interactions for four hours; the researcher asked the teachers and the peers to rate children’s aggressive behaviors. The results showed that the propensity for aggressive behaviors in kindergarten children was associated with maternal coerciveness and non warmth. Results also showed statistically significant gender differences in terms of aggressive behaviors. Thus, boys who had high levels of mother’s coercion and nonwarmth from parents tended to be aggressive over the years, but girls who had high levels of mother’s coercion tended to decrease in levels of aggression.
Parenting Style Practiced
Parents’ way of giving care and discipline has a big impact on how children develop into adults and there significant implications for their future success (Murphy & Johnson, 2011). Parents naturally exert an important influence on their children’s development.
Parent educators seek to help individuals to become better parents. Most parents learn parenting practices from their own parents (Santrock, 2008). The task of husbands and wives may bring different parenting practices to the marriage. They then, may struggle with each other about which is a better practice to interact with a child. A study conducted by Tavassolie, Dudding, Madigan, Thorvardarson, and Winsler (2016) focused on relations between maternal and paternal perceived parenting style, marital conflict, and child behavior outcomes. Child participants (N = 152) ranged in age from 3 to 9 years old. Reports from both parents on perceived parenting style, marital conflict, and child behavior problems were collected. Results indicated that (a) parenting styles of mothers and fathers were related, (b) mothers’ and fathers’ internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, (c) marital conflict was significantly related to child behavior problems, (d) when mother and father reported parenting styles differed, increased marital conflict was reported, (e) increased differences between mothers and fathers in self and spouse perceived permissiveness were related to increased child externalizing behavior problems, and (f) the direction of the differences between parents (i.e. whether a particular parent reported being more permissive than the other) was linked with marital conflict and child behavior problems. Namely, marital and child outcomes were poorer when mothers saw themselves as more authoritative than fathers and when fathers were more authoritarian than mothers, and outcomes were better when fathers saw themselves as more permissive than mothers and when mothers were more authoritarian than fathers.
Chen, Dong, and Zhou conducted a study with 304 children in second grade from Beijing, China. It was shown that authoritarian mothers were positively correlated with children’s aggression and negatively correlated with sociability, shyness, and inhibition; whereas, instances of authoritative mothers was positively correlated with sociability for girls, but not statistically significant for boys. Block conducted a survey to examine the differences of socialization between sons and daughters. It was shown that mothers and fathers emphasized achievement and competition for their sons rather than for their daughters. Second, both parents encouraged their sons to express their emotions and show independence more than their daughters. Third, discipline and punishment is more common of fathers than mothers towards sons. Fourth, fathers show more authoritarian style towards their sons than their daughters. Fifth, mothers encourage their sons more than their daughters to be conforming and to create a better impression.
Parenting Style Received and Parenting Style Practiced
Parenting style used by parents will affect their child in their future life (Alarcon, 1997). Parents often use the same parenting styles their parents used to discipline their own child. Sometimes parents will decide to use a different parenting style than their parents. Whichever parenting style a parent uses, it is important to give one’s child autonomy, nurture, and show them responsibility. For some parents, a combination of parenting styles work. The parenting style they choose can depend on their culture and the child's temperament.
Critzer’s research has shown that using values of authoritative parenting is effective in raising a child. "Parents today have a variety of choices regarding their parenting style" (as cited in Aralcon, 1997). Parental beliefs and values influence childrearing practices. The parenting style that a parent uses will affect a child throughout his life and is more prominent as they reach adolescence into adulthood.
According to De Lisi, some parents believe that that obedience and punishment are the basis for rearing children of strong character and enduring beliefs in permissive child rearing styles could be that the primary force driving parental behavior is not a focused on socializing the child but beliefs that their role as parent should focus on achieving a happy child with high selfesteem who has harmonious relationships with the parents and others in the family. Such individuals might be more likely to become permissive parents because they think this childrearing approach will achieve these goals of producing a welladjusted child with positive family relations. In addition, parents may believe that the path to a happy, welladjusted child lies in creating and maintaining positive family relationships, rather than in an authoritative approach that enhances development through the child’s success in meeting challenges within a warm environment that supports the child’s own efforts to address demands.
According to Jocano, the importance of parenting is particularly highlighted in Philippine society, in which the family is generally seen as central to one's social world (as cited in Berg, 2011). Researchers Chao, Tseng, and Medina have described the Filipino family as characterized by cohesiveness, respect for elders, deference to parental authority, and fulfillment of mutual obligations (as cited in Berg, 2011). Many of the studies relied on Baumrind's classification of parenting styles found authoritative parenting styles to be the most commonly practiced among Filipino families. Mothers' and fathers' parenting attitudes, goals, knowledge, and attributions about success and failure, among others, can shape their child rearing practices and the ways they interact with their children. However, most investigations of parenting cognitions in the Philippines have tended to rely on intuitive ways of describing culturally shared family values. In addition, McGillicuddyDe Lisi and Sigel research on parent beliefs and parent knowledge reveals that beliefs stem from multiple sources, including one’s own history as a child, observations from everyday life, sociohistorical and socio cultural factors, personal experiences as a parent, one’s own parenting goals, and opinions presented in 17 popular literature (as cited in Berg 2011).
General support has been found for the idea that direct modeling of parenting behaviors leads to the transfer of those behaviors from one generation to the next (Serbin and Karp, 2003). However, these studies also suggest that there is continuity of an aggressive behavioral style from childhood to parenthood. In other words, adults’ style of parenting incorporates both what they learned directly from parenting behavior that was modeled in their childhood and their own behavioral style, which was already apparent during childhood. Serbin and Karp (2003) study across a broad range of research populations in several countries, suggest that problematic parenting develops in part through learning the behavior modeled by one’s own parents. In addition, problematic parenting seems to be an extension of an individual’s early style of aggressive and problematic social behavior. Parents with a history of childhood aggression, in particular, tend to have continuing social, behavioral, and health difficulties, as do their offspring. Conversely, parental involvement, cognitive stimulation, warmth, and nurturance appear to have important protective effects for offspring.
Serbina, L., and Karp, J. (2003). Intergenerational studies of parenting and the transfer of risk from parent to child. Abstract retrieved on September 14, 2016 from
rbinetal.(Intergenerational).pdf
Tavassolie, T., Dudding, S., Madigan, A.L., Thorvardarson, E., and Winsler, A. (2016). Differences in Perceived Parenting Style Between Mothers and Fathers: Implications for Child Outcomes and Marital Conflict.
Journal of Child and Family Studies.