Question

Parenting styles are the characteristic strategies that parents use to manage children’s behavior. Diana Baumrind focuses on four aspects of family functioning, each of which has been independently shown to be related to various child behaviors

To participate you must post your response to my discussion question AND to the response of another students posting.

How do parenting styles affect children’s development? Provide examples.

Answer 1

According to Diana Baumrind, parenting styles are determined based on two dimensions of parent behavior. They are demandingness and responsiveness. Demandingness refers to the extend to which parents exert control on child's behavior. Responsiveness refers to the extent parents accept their children and be sensitive to their emotional and developmental needs. The four parenting styles explained by Baumrind are:

• Authoritative Parenting: High Demandingness and High Responsiveness

This is considered as the best parenting style. Parents are warm and responsive but they set clear rules for the child. They have high expectations from their child. They are supportive and they value independence in child. Children of such parents have higher academic performance, more self esteem,better social skills and less emotional issues. For example, the parents respond well for their child's needs but they don't immediately buy the toys whenever the child demands. This delay in gratification make the child understand the value of receiving gifts

• Authoritarian Parenting:High demandingness and low responsiveness

Here the parents are less responsive and they put forth strict rules for children. They also have high expectations from children. They demand blind obedience from children. Children of such parents exhibit lower academic performance, low self esteem, poorer social skills, emotional and delinquent issues. For example, when children make mistakes the parents punishes them without making them understand why they are being punished and say "no" without giving a freedom for the children to express themselves.

• Permissive Parenting: Low demandingness and Low responsiveness

In this parenting style, the parents are warm and responsive like authoritarian parents but they set few or no rules. They are very indulgent and lenient and have a casual attitudes to problem behavior. This will make the child ego centric. They will have impulsive behavior, poorer social skills and problematic relationships with peers and others. For example, parents don't punish when the child steal toys of other children thinking that it would hurt their child.

• Neglectful Parenting:Low demandingness and Low responsiveness

The parents are cold and unresponsive. They are uninvolved in parenting and they set no rules for their children. They are indifferent to their child's behavior. Children of such parents grew up to be having serious emotional issues. They becomes delinquents and have impulsive behavior. They are more likely to indulge in drug or alcohol abuse and exhibit suicidal behaviors. For example, the parents neglect when the child cries when shes in pain or sick. They don't hug or console the child.

Source:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/541560-the-impact-of-parenting-styles-on-childrens-development/

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/4-baumrind-parenting-styles/