Research Paper on Baumrind's 4 Parental Styles

Introduction

The four Baumrind's parental styles are authoritarian or disciplinarian, permissive, uninvolved, and authoritative parenting. The authoritarian style of parenting is the form of strict parenting where parents are harsh to their children by being demanding yet they remain unresponsive. The parents under the authoritarian style of parenting have high expectations for their children whom they expect to adhere to a stringent set of rules and guidelines. Authoritarian parents do not believe in dialogue with their children since they demand utmost obedience. Most of the times the parents punish their children to teach them a lesson and command obedience. The downside to this form of parenting is that it may lead to the poor academic performance of the children at school while lowering their self-esteem (Sunderland, 2016). The authoritarian parenting style is also likely to make the children develop mental illnesses as well as having poor social skills whenever they are with their peers.

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There is also the permissive style of parenting which is a complete contrast to the authoritarian parental style. The parents falling under the permissive style of parenting are strong believers in the independence of their children as they are distinct individuals who require their own space and time. Permissive parents believe strongly in equality and that is the reason for perceiving their children as equals. This is one of the basis of involving their children in regular consultations and the decision making process to create a sense of inclusion. The permissive style of parenting constitutes of parents who are reluctant to impose strict rules on their children since they have as few rules as possible. This parental leniency is likely to leave the children as egocentric with poor social skills. They may also develop impulsive behaviors while they also tend to have problematic relationships with others.

The third parenting style is the neglectful or uninvolved parenting in which the parents accord the children a lot of freedom to the extent of staying away. There are various reasons that may make parents to be uninvolved in the lives of their children. This could be due to an intentional decision to neglect the children, loss of interest in parenting, or lack of information. These parents let their children do whatever they want largely because of a discipline structure put in place to reward or punish the children. The parents offer little or no nurturing towards the children and there is lack of proper communication between them. The children are neglected to the extent of their parents having few or no demands or expectations from their children.

The last of the four parenting styles, and perhaps the most effective according to Dr. Diana Baumrind, is the authoritative parental style. Parents who fall under the authoritative category have established clear disciplinary rules for their children while going further to explain the rationale behind the reward and punishment scheme. They are nurturing in nature in the sense that they create a supportive environment for their children to prevail in the things they do (Larzelere, Morris, & Harrist, 2013). Authoritative parents aspire to create a special bond with their children through regular communication in a clear and concise manner for the children's understanding. As much as they set high standards and expectations for their children, they also ensure that their children are involved in setting these objectives and making them clear. This style is beneficial to the children because they grow as independent thinkers with self-discipline.

References

Larzelere, R. E., Morris, A. S., & Harrist, A. W. (2013). Authoritative parenting: Synthesizing nurturance and discipline for optimal child development. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Sunderland, M. (2016). What every parent needs to know. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.