Being a parent is one of the biggest joys for West Virginians. Parenting isn’t easy and takes work to be effective. The type of parenting style you use matters because of the impact it has on your children.
Understanding the different parenting styles
Whether you’re a single parent, married or divorced and share child custody, your parenting style matters. The four different styles are authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and uninvolved.
How parenting style impacts children
The authoritarian parenting style uses a strict approach where parents rarely show affection and expect their children to obey their every order. Kids often fear disappointing their parents and feel pressured to always excel or face negative consequences. Children with authoritarian-style parents can grow up to have strained relationships, poor social skills, aggression, low self-esteem and anxiety. They either grow up to be parents who use the same parenting style with their own kids or do the exact opposite and are too permissive.
Authoritative is a parenting style with many advantages. It involves appropriately disciplining children but also showing them plenty of love and affection. This style is a good balance that results in healthy self-esteem, great social skills and close relationships with parents.
The permissive parenting style is inconsistent in terms of discipline and communication. Parents who use it act more like their child’s friend and allow the child to make their own decisions. It can have negative impacts on kids, including poor social relationships, poor academic performance and self-control issues.
Uninvolved parents are often too busy and unintentionally detached but fail to meet their kids’ needs. This can result in problems at school, low self-esteem, relationship issues and mental health problems.
Kids need a good mix of love and structure to thrive. It could also help them well into their adulthood.