Parenting Styles Essay, Research Paper

There are 4 parenting styles based on parental responsiveness and demandiveness. These styles are Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent parents, and Indifferent.

The Authoritative parents are warm but firm. These parents set standards based on their child?s capabilities both mentally and physically and these standards are not set in stone. These parents can be reasoned with. Authoritative parents place a high value on self direction (autonomy). Examples of these parents discussed in class are Bill Cosby and Seventh Heaven, but I also believe Family Matters and Family Ties are also good examples. The children of these parents are more responsible, more adaptive, more successful, and more creative, so overall just well rounded people. I believe this is where most people want to fall.

The next is Authoritarian. These parents are absolute rulers of their roost with no give and take. Their forceful discipline and ?because I said so? attitude does not encourage independence in their children. Their children are more passive than active and depend on their parents or others as adults to help make decisions.

Another style is those of Indulgent Parents. These parents are the exact opposite of Authoritatian parents. They have a passive nature with few restrictions, and believe that punishment interferes with healthy developement. Their children have less responsibility and therefore are less mature, conform to peer pressure more often, and are less able to deal with leadership. This comes from following the crowd.

The last of the 4 styles is Indifferent Parents. These parents just don?t care, and place their needs before their child?s. These parents are often not around much or will let their child suffer to pay for something the parent feels they deserve or need. Often, DHS is called into these households. These children don?t get the guidence they need and often expirament with sex, drugs, and alcohol, because they either saw their parents doing it or were never taught that these things can ruin your life.