When it comes to child development, there are many factors that come into play. One of the largest factors, according to Psychology, is parenting. It’s a common debate on which parenting style proves to be most effective. Of the four parenting styles, authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and negligent, two are usually in question. Authoritarian (strict) and permissive (free-range) parenting has proven to have very different outcomes on child development, but it’s in question which is better.
An authoritarian or strict style is when many rules are in place and there is harsh punishment for bad behavior. However, a lot of the time, the reasoning behind the rules is normally “because I said so” or “because I’m your parent” and the child is often left wondering without reasoning behind it or questions as to why they are being punished/what they did wrong. This style of parenting has been proven by many developmental psychologists to result in successful/obedient, but curious behavior.
Permissive or free-range parenting is when rules aren’t really put in place in order to allow the child to learn from their own experiences and decide on their own what is right and wrong. Harsh discipline is rare, few demands are made, and lack of control is common. This style has been proven to result in stable/communicative, but less mature behavior and lack of self-control. All in all, both prove to have benefits and negative effects, but it’s a common debate.
Which parenting style do you find to be most beneficial when it comes to raising children? Do you feel that other factors, such as peer influencing may have a larger impact on the behavior of the child?
Hello Salome! If I had a chance to raise children, I would choose the authoritarian technique, because I would rather an obedient child over one that lacks self-control. I was personally raised with the authoritarian technique, and I do not believe it is wrong for a child to have curious behavior. Curious behavior could lead into success in education, as they could be curious in any subject at school. I strongly agree that peer influencing does have a strong impact on the behavior of the child, but overall I believe parents have a larger impact. Children spend time with their parents more than their peers on most occasions, thus giving parents more influence over a child's behavior.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the authoritarian parenting technique is the better option compared to permissive parenting because it results in well-behaved, successful children. However, telling a child they are not allowed to do something simply because one is the parent is something very frustrating for the child because they want to know a reason why the parent will not allow something. Asking why can many times seem disrespectful to the parent, when the child just wants to understand the parent's reasoning for their decision. Parents constantly using this excuse to not allow their children to do something causes the child to sometimes rebel because they do not see the parent's reasoning. This is why it is important to help children understand parents so they will be more obedient. Overall, I believe the authoritative style of parenting is the most beneficial to the child, because there are strict rules and punishments for bad behavior, but there is also a sense of mutual understanding where the child would feel more comfortable asking parents for permission to do things. Peer influence is of course a large factor on impacting the way a child behaves because children influence each other and will want to do things their friends are doing. If the friends are not good influences this could lead to misbehavior. This is why there needs to be that respect from child to parent, as well as a sense of comfort and mutual understanding.
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