There is no secret to parenting. Every child is different and parents get to know their children as they go through all of their stages of development during their childhood and adolescence. Throughout this article we will be providing you with parenting tips and parenting education and support in hopes of enriching your parent skills! We will also help you build a parenting network if you wish to follow a parent coaching class. A few questions that will be answered in this article are the following. What is the importance of parenting and learning? Does your parenting style affect your children's learning?

More importantly, what are the different parenting styles?

Parenting book on mother's lap.
Unfortunately, children to not come with instruction manuals! Learn more about the different parenting styles to help you understand the basics of parenting.
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Parenting Education and Support : What Are the Different Parenting Styles?

In child development and psychology, there are four main styles of parenting. Understanding these parenting styles will help parents have a deeper understanding of what kind of parenting is best for their children. What is the importance of learning and parenting in the United States? What kind of parent do you want to be? What kind of parenting does your child or children need? Parenting styles will affect a child's learning, mental health, behavior and development through their different stages. Whether a parent is firm, tolerant, vigilant or removed, here are the different parenting styles, based on the work of psychologists Diana Baumrind, Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin in the 60s and 80s, respectively, and how they influence child development. Each parenting style is measured by it's degree of responsiveness and demandingness. Responsiveness represents the parent's response and sensitiveness to their children's needs, where as demandingness represents the level of control in the parent's discipline towards their children.

Mother hiking with her son
Open and bidirectional communication is key to positive parenting! (Source: Unsplash)

Permissive Parenting Style

A permissive or indulgent parenting style has a high degree of responsiveness and a low degree of demandingness. This style of parenting will choose to avoid conflict by immediately fulfilling the children's needs and demands. Avoiding conflict and accepting pleas as they happen results in a lack of guidance and direction for the children. The permissive parenting style has minimal rules  and boundaries. Also, the parent's set expectations aren't implemented nor enforced. Children raised by the permissive parenting style usually decide for themselves. Although permissive parents offer an open communication and an affectionate bond with their children, being passive disfavors the children's emotional growth and management. Unfortunately, the consequences and outcomes of permissive parenting are difficulties following different set rules, weak emotional control and management, poor self-control and self-esteem, behavioral problems, anger and egocentric tendencies, lack of social skills and, etc.

Authoritarian Parenting Style

The authoritarian, or disciplinarian parenting, being the opposite pole of a permissive parenting style, has high degree of demandingness and a low degree of responsiveness. Authoritarian parenting, also known to be described as ''tough love'', is a very strict and closed-off parenting style, as it imposes set rules with very little to no communication, while disregarding the children's needs. Blind obedience is what authoritarian parents ask for, as the main reason for their directives is ''because I said so''. That being said, the communication is very one-way as the parents view themselves as strict figures of authority. Wanting to ''toughen up their kids'' and viewing themselves as such leads to a lack of nurturing, leaving the children's needs unfulfilled. Unfortunately, the authoritarian parenting styles results in insecure and more dependent children with low self-esteem, poor social and emotional skills, defiant behavior, high risk of mental illness such as depression and substance abuse and poor communication skills.

Father with his two sons.
Parenting is the offer the perfect balance between boundaries, rules, caring and nurturing. (Source: Unsplash)

Neglectful Parenting Style

A neglectful parenting style, in other words disengaged or uninvolved, has low level of demandingness and a low level of responsiveness. Having a low level in both aspects results in a general indifference. With this in mind, very little to no rules are implemented as they aren't very much engaged and are, usually unintentionally, emotionally absent. Parents who are emotionally absent, offering very little attention and nurturing to their children, are most often preoccupied with their own issues and struggles. Therefore, they are overwhelmed by their own difficulties. Consequently, children of neglectful parenting achieve poor results at school, tend to be impulsive, have trouble managing their emotional behavior and are prone to mental issues during adolescence, tend to have behavioral problems such as delinquent behavior and substance abuse. What are other consequences of a lack of parental skills?

Authoritative Parenting Style

OK, let's take a breath. The three previous parenting styles represent three extreme spectrums of parenting styles. Parents don't usually follow one strict parenting style. This being said, parents actually use many parenting styles, as they mix the different styles and make it their own. Before we get into it, let's look at the final spectrum of parenting styles, which is the good and positive one (phew, finally)!

The authoritative style, not to be confused with the authoritarian style, represents the best democratic parenting style according to psychologists and psychiatrists. Authoritative parenting has a high level of demandingness and a high level of responsiveness. These levels translate in set rules and boundaries, presented by high positive expectations for success, achievement and maturity, while also being caring, supportive and nurturing. Authoritative parents offer bidirectional communication and guide their children through their different stages of development. With reasoning and explanations, parents teach their children about awareness and transmit their values and morals. Children of authoritative parents are happy and , independent, active, achieve better school results, have good self-esteem and social skills and an overall good mental health. Now, which parenting style is really the best for your children? Let's keep reading.

Mother and son on park bench.
There is no ''one size fits all'' to parenting. Every child has different needs! (Source: Unsplash)

Bottom Line: What Parenting Style is Best for Your Family?

As mentioned previously in this article, psychologists and psychiatrists support an authoritative parenting style. Authoritative parenting results in more independent and content children with good mental and behavioral intelligence.  However, as humans, no one is safe from other factors that could come into play. All children are susceptible to mental health, behavioral and social difficulties, regardless of the parenting style. Even though it is mostly seen in the permissive, authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles, children of authoritative parenting can also suffer from these difficulties. Other factors that could come into play are cultural and ethnic differences and the child's temperament for example. What parenting style is the best for your family? Well, it all depends. Parenting is very personal to the family, as there is no ''one size fits all''. It has been proven that the best parenting will use a mix of different styles, depending on the situation. Being able to adapt to your children's needs according to the situation is the best advice. Would you like to learn more? Sign up to a parenting class and continue to enrich your parenting knowledge! Here's some information on online parenting classes in the United States. What are parenting skills so important?

Follow an Online Parenting Class With Superprof and It's Dedicated Teachers

Superprof is an online educational resource that offers personalized classes in various disciplines to students all over the world! Thanks to our passionate Superprof teachers, it is possible to take classes in order to learn languages, history, science, math, art, dance, cooking, photography, rock climbing, yoga, parenting and many more. Classes with Superprof are personalized and tailored to the student's needs, as they are taught one-on-one. Another advantage Superprof offers is the possibility of taking parenting classes online or in person. Scheduling is also organized by the student! The flexibility offered by the educational online platform allows students to follow classes whenever they want, from where ever they want! Even the teachers that they choose can be from all over the world as Superprof is available in different countries all over the world!

Would you like a parenting education and support class? Do you need help finding the best parenting style for your family? No problem, let us help you. On top of everything, Superprof is ideal for parents thanks to it's flexibility. In order to find an online parenting class, all you have to do is use the search bar on Superprof's website and type some key words such as parenting tips or parent coaching. You will then have to specify your region and what budget you will be allocating to your classes with Superprof. You will then find a list of qualified teachers available in your area. Each teacher is presented by a profile that describes their qualifications, their certifications, their experience and their prices in US dollars for their classes. You can also read comments that were left by their previous students. Superprof offers the first class for free in order for the student to test out his chemistry with the teacher and the platform! Are you ready to work on your parenting skills with Superprof? What parenting style is best suited for your children? Let Superprof accompany you throughout your journey in parenting education and support. Superprof is accessible and easy to use. Do you want to learn how can you improve your parenting skills? Let's get to parenting!

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Chloe Galouchko

Passionate about people, languages and different cultures. I live to travel, share, discover, explore and continuously learn from others.