Parenting in a complicated emotional roller coaster, one in which we are often unprepared for. This section will engage you with the different ideas of the styles of parenting that have been a part of our theoretical journey in Early Childhood Education. It is important to note, that many of these ideas/theories have been normed using white children and families and that these ideas may not translate to all families as culture is another part of the dynamic of raising
children. (This will be discussed further in Chapter 3 which is dedicated to the influences of culture). The parenting style used to rear a child will likely impact that child’s future success in romantic, peer and parenting relationships. Diana Baumrind, a
clinical and developmental psychologist, coined the following parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive/indulgent, Later, Maccoby and Martin added the uninvolved/neglectful style. According to Baumrind, it is beneficial to evaluate the support and demandingness of a caregiver in order to determine which style is being used and how to effectively use it. Support refers to the amount of affection, acceptance, and warmth a parent provides to a child. Demandingness refers
to the degree a parent controls a child’s behavior. The chart below depicts the four styles of parenting brought to us by Baumrind, Maccoby and Martin Authoritative (Democratic parenting) High demandingness and responsiveness Authoritative parents tend to: Based on Baumrind’s research on parenting styles, children of authoritative parents tend to: Authoritarian Parenting (Dictator parenting) High demandingness, low responsiveness Authoritarian parents tend to: Based on Baumrind’s research on parenting styles, children of authoritarian parents tend to: Permissive Parenting (Indulgent parenting) Low demandingness, high responsiveness Permissive parents tend to: Based on Baumrind’s research on parenting styles, children of authoritarian parents tend to: Neglectful Parenting (Uninvolved parenting) Low demandingness and responsiveness Neglectful parents tend to: Based on Baumrind’s research on parenting styles, children of permissive parents tend to: In reviewing the styles of parenting identified in the chart above, one can see that the focus comes more from Western, individualistic society's thoughts on the role of raising children. It is important that we look at how these ideals may influence the way in which we see families who have different ideals about parenting. This is one lens to look at parenting, but we need to be more critical thinkers about the many possibilities that exist in raising healthy,
productive humans in the many different societies that exist in our world. Researchers have identified additional parenting approaches that are not applicable to Baumrind’s styles, definitions, or outcomes. Below is an overview of four of these
approaches–overindulgent parenting, helicopter parenting, lawnmower parenting, and traditional parenting. Overindulgent parenting is providing children with too much of what “looks good, too soon, too long.” Oftentimes, it appears that parents implement
these strategies to fulfill their own unmet needs or feelings of neglect from their own childhood. Examples include giving children an overabundance of: Many negative outcomes have been linked to overindulgent parenting, which include, but are not limited to, children who exhibit: Helicopter ParentingHelicopter parenting is characterized by caregivers who are extremely over involved in their child’s life due to the belief that they can protect their child’s physical and/or emotional well-being. Caregivers using this approach appear overbearing and overprotective due to the close attention they pay to all of their child’s problems and successes. Parents “hover overhead” by constantly overseeing or being excessively interested in every aspect of their child’s life. Some contend that cell phones are “the world’s longest umbilical cord” which is contributing to this phenomenon. Many negative outcomes have been linked to helicopter parenting, which may include, but are not limited to, children and adults who exhibit: Lawnmower ParentingSaba Harouni Lurie, a licensed marriage and family therapist defines lawnmower parenting (also referred to as “bulldozing parenting” and “snowplow parenting”) simply as: “when parents remove obstacles for their kids in hopes of setting them up to be successful.” Lawnmower parents have a strong desire to protect their child from any type of struggle or obstacle. As as result, they're said to "mow over" any problems thei child faces, as well as prevent problems from occurring in the first place. This may result in creating a generation that has no ideas what to do when they actually encounter a struggle. This may lead to adversely affecting children as having to face adversity, struggle, and/or failure robs them of opportunities to learn from their mistakes. Raising children who have experienced "minimal struggle" is not necessarily doing them any favors or even making them even remotely happier. Traditional Parenting StyleThe traditional parenting style is more commonly used in families with non-Western cultural values. Parents using this approach expect their children to respect and obey authority (e.g., parents, elders, etc.) and comply with their cultural beliefs and values without questions. Parents using this approach are high in demandingness, warmth, and responsiveness, similar to the authoritative approach, however, they do not engage in democratic discussions. This style was created because many parenting styles in non-Western cultures do not meet the criteria for authoritarian (due to expressing warmth) or authoritative (due to lack of communication). For example, many families who self-identify as Asian Americans and Latino Americans engage in high demandingness and expect respect and obedience of their children. However, these caregivers also value closeness and love which is different from the authoritarian parenting style. Adolescents who grow up in families using traditional parenting style characteristics tend to show higher academic achievements and lower behavioral and psychological problems when compared to their peers who are reared by caregivers using the authoritarian approach. These positive outcomes may be related to the closeness and love shown to children, which is different from the “cold” or “distant” characteristics consistent with the authoritarian style. Key takeaways
Additional less researched parenting styles:LeMaster and Defrain Parenting Styles
Family Systems TheoryIn an article by Linda Garris Christian entitled: "Understanding Families - Applying Family Systems Theory to Early Childhood Practice" she suggests that using this theory can help explain why members of a family behave the way they do in a given situation*. The chart below provides a brief overview of this theory and it's application in our early learning environments. Family Systems Theory
References:"Parenting and Family Diversity" by Diana Lang is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 *adapted from Understanding Families: Applying Family Systems Theory to Early Childhood Practice by Linda Garris Christian, Young Children, January, 2006 |