Parenting Styles & Development From Early Childhood to Adolescence
Raising children can be difficult and rewarding. There are many different discipline styles and approaches to raising children. Starting at infancy, there are distinct models of parenting that many people follow. These styles may change over time to accommodate the child's age and if the family adds more children.
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Infants and Toddlers
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Two major styles of parenting relate to the infancy stage-attachment parenting and the Babywise method. Attachment parenting was founded on the belief that infants are happier, healthier and feel secure if they're close to their parents, according to AskDrSears.com. Attachment parenting is composed of seven tools: bonding at birth, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedding close to baby, belief in the value of a baby's cry, not listening to baby trainers and balancing/flexibility in parenting. Babywise focuses on separating a baby's activities into three main cycles-feeding, waketime and sleeping, The Parentwise Solution website says. Proponents of Babywise believe that getting an infant on a schedule will allow them to sleep through the night earlier, cry less and achieve healthy weight.
Preschool and Young Children
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The three major parenting styles for this age group are: authoritarian, permissive and authoritative, Parenting Infants and Toddlers says. An authoritarian parent has high expectations, is a strict disciplinarian, don't give importance to what children have to say and may be overprotective. Permissive parents give their children choices, encourage children to make their own decisions, are supportive and strive to raise independent children. Authoritarian parents are a mix. Parents believe in open communication with their children, yet believe in discipline and punishment as needed.
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Adolescents
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This stage of development has shown four major parenting styles: indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative and uninvolved parents. Indulgent parents are responsive to their children, don't require mature behavior, avoid confrontation, are lenient, engaged and committed to their children. Authoritarian parents are very demanding, seek obedience, provide structure, clearly stated rules and don't offer choices to the child. A mix between an indulgent parent and authoritarian parent is an authoritative parent. These parents are assertive and supportive, rather than punitive and restrictive. Uninvolved parents aren't responsive and don't place demands on their children. This type of parenting may border on neglect in some situations, but usually consists of parents who aren't involved in their children's lives.
Effectiveness of Parenting Styles
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Children and adolescents whose parents are involved in their lives are more likely to do well academically, emotionally and socially. Authoritarian parents tend to raise children who perform well academically, but may have weaker social skills and poor self-esteem. Children raised in indulgent homes are more likely to get into trouble, perform poorly in school but will usually have above-average social skills. Authoritative parents seem to have a good balance of academic performance, social skills and emotional stability, according to athealth.com. While a child's development is partly based on how they were raised, personality, environment, school, intellect, race and culture can all play an important part in how children perform in life.
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References
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