Question

Explain why authoritative parenting is linked to favorable academic and social outcomes among children and adolescents.

Is the concept of authoritative parenting useful for understanding effective parenting across cultures? Explain.

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How would you classify your parents’ child-rearing styles? Be sure to provide some factors that might have influenced their approach to child rearing?

Answer 1

Authoritative parenting refers to high responsiveness from the parent’s side and at the same time characterized by high expectations. So, the child has enough freedom but it is also expected to showcase enough responsibility while doing those. Authoritative parents support the child in all the areas but set boundaries and limits for the child to understand that they have to behave and act in certain ways. That’s why it is able to produce better academic and social outcomes.

Although authoritative parenting style is considered to be the ideal parenting style, it depends on the culture, religion and the country that would determine what type of parenting style one would get. Individualistic and materialistic cultures would provide more freedom and set enough academic and social expectations but the fact is that it would go only up to certain age and then the children would become more independent that they won’t listen to their parents. Collective cultures on the other hand lay more emphasis on children to strictly follow whatever the parents say while at the same time neglecting the emotional needs of the children. They only try to fulfil all the material needs but the child cannot freely express its opinions out of fear.

My parents were authoritarian parents who understood and appreciated me for what I am. They helped me grow up by being very responsive to both my material and emotional needs. They told me what and how I would be doing things and behaving outside which has helped me a lot to adjust to new places and people. Although my parents set the guidelines, I had complete freedom to choose what I felt was good for me. Thus, I was able to produce better academic and social outcomes in my life too.

  

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