Title: Authoritative parenting

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Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

The Features of Authoritative Parenting..........................................................................................1

Benefits of Authoritative Parenting.................................................................................................3

Challenges of Authoritative Parenting.............................................................................................4

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5

Reference.........................................................................................................................................6

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 INTRODUCTION

Training a child is one of the hardest things in the world, yet it is the most important aspect of a

family. Our role as parents isn't just about giving birth to children but also ensuring they grow up

in an environment where they feel loved and are provided with the basic social and mental skills

needed to survive in our society. There are four major parenting approaches involved in raising a

child, which are permissive, neglectful, authoritarian and authoritative parenting (Baumrind,

1991). Each parenting style has its unique way of impacting a child socially, and they can be

identified by specific characteristics. Of the four parenting styles, authoritative parenting is the

best for preparing a child to become independent and successful in the future (Chakkarath,

2010). Authoritative parenting involves educating, responding and being supportive to children

and at the same time setting strict limits to curtail bad behaviors (New and Cochran, 2007). This

style of parenting aims to strike a balance between being firm and also being supportive. Instead

of enforcing rules on children, authoritative parents discuss rules and expectations and, at the

same time, make the children understand the consequences of deviating from these rules. This

essay aims to discuss authoritative parenting, its features, challenges and advantages over other

parenting styles.

The Features of Authoritative Parenting

Parents must set realistic expectations and demands for their children (Navulari and Dhar, 2022).

They should communicate what they want effectively and ensure those children work towards

those goals. The demands set by parents in this parenting style often consider the child’s ability

to perform those set goals. While they are strict about the child’s ability to meet the set goals,

they should also be attentive to any difficulties that the child encounters in the process. For

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example, when I was little, during exams, my parents often told me that I needed to top my class.

They set these goals because I have consistently done well in my exams, and they understand my

capabilities. They usually helped me to achieve this goal by motivating me, and even when I am

unable to achieve this goal due to unforeseeable circumstances, they often advise me and try to

help me top my class another academic session.

Effectively communicating the rationale behind rules and tasks at home to kids is another feature

of authoritative parenting (Navulari and Dhar, 2022). I believe making children understand the

aim and objectives of specific house rules and tasks will make them understand why certain

things need to be done in a certain way. This will make them follow these rules without

questioning them. Also, soliciting the opinions of kids and encouraging them to talk about what

they don’t like will would help to avoid secrecy in the family. For example, if I make a rule that

everyone at home should wake up by 6 am, as an authoritative parent, I will make them

understand why they need to wake up early in the morning by explaining the benefits to them,

and if any of the children feels waking up around 6 am is too early, I will try to find out the

reasons for being against the rule.

Thirdly, authoritative parents must be constantly involved in their children's growth and

progress. An authoritative parent assesses the child’s weaknesses and strengths and the positives

and negatives in the child’s behaviour. This will help to understand the child’s limitations and

also give an idea of when and where to pause in their expectation. For example, a child has been

practicing basketball to get selected for the school team. I, as a parent, will help him search for

information about basketball on the internet and provide him with a balanced diet that is crucial

for his physical fitness. Furthermore, I will talk to his basketball coach to understand his strength

and weaknesses and support the child in overcoming his shortcoming

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Also, an authoritative parent must have faith in their child. They must be ready to give their kids

some freedom to explore and make decisions themselves. They should also be aware that

freedom with no monitoring could be detrimental. Therefore, they must let children be free but

monitor to checkmate their behavior. For example, your sixteen-year-old daughter wants to go to

one of her friend's birthday party late at night. You allow her to go but not before asking

questions such as the names of the friend's parents and when she intends to come back, and if

you observe anything wrong, you can make further investigation to ensure that she is on the right

track.

Lastly, families who follow authoritative parenting must spend time with each other (Navulari

and Dhar, 2022). Parents have to make sure they don't neglect their children because they are too

busy at work. This will help the kids bond emotionally with the family. For example, during

dinner, parents can ensure that kids put away their electronic gadgets and the TV is off to provide

an ideal environment for the family to hear about each other's day before going to bed.

Benefits of Authoritative Parenting

Positive parenting does a lot of good, not just to children but to the whole family. Authoritative

parenting is the best parenting style and comes with many advantages. Firstly, parents can avoid

a lot of heartache and problems that come with having children as the rules, responsibilities, and

expectations are clear and easy to understand. Parents treat their children kindly, and children

respect their parents. They have an open conversation on issues they disagree on instead of

yelling at each other. The positive ambience at home helps the child develop into a better person

who is kind and respectful towards others (Huver et al., 2010).

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Secondly, there is equilibrium between love and punishment in the home (Brooks, 2010). Parents

with an authoritative parenting style avoid indulging their children to the extent they get spoilt.

During periods when they notice that the balance is shifting, they make effort to set it right again.

Thirdly, children of authoritative parents grow up to become self-motivated individuals due to

the support and encouragement they receive from their parents at home. These children are not

afraid of failing; as such, they keep trying until they succeed because their parents don’t judge

them by the results of their actions but rather by the effort and sincerity they put into tasks

(Cherry, 2014). They tend to raise emotionally stable children. They exert positive discipline on

their children by helping them realise their mistakes without getting them emotionally

demoralized. Children get to see better versions of their parents and set a standard for how

children should raise their children (Rhee et al., 2006). An authoritative parent evolves over the

years. As such, they learn quickly from their mistakes and rectify their actions. They adapt their

parenting style to suit their children as they grow from infants to kids and then adolescents.

Lastly, Authoritative parents are more likely to transmit healthy nutrition habits to their kids; as

such, they are more likely to raise fit and healthy kids (Baumrind, 1968). Studies on children’s

mental health found that authoritative parenting is negatively associated with obsessive-

compulsive attitudes and symptoms (Timpano et al., 2010).

Challenges of Authoritative Parenting

While authoritative parenting might be the best, it is certainly not perfect, and it comes with a

few disadvantages. Firstly, there tend to be too many rules. Parents practicing this style of

parenting tend to make rules for everything, which can sometimes be exhausting to children and

make them feel imprisoned. Parents can overcome this challenge by only making rules for the

most important things and letting children make their own decisions in situations where they are

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not likely to get harmed. For example, if your child wants to learn how to play the piano, you

should let them do it at their own pace, and if they choose to stop playing to focus on other

activities, you should also give them the freedom to do that. Secondly, authoritative parenting

might lead to children developing huge egos and inflated self-esteem since parents always seek

their opinion on almost everything. By the time they become teenagers, their inflated self-esteem

could lead to rebellion at home. Lastly, authoritative parenting takes a lot of time and parental

involvement, which will add to the burden the parents are already facing, such as providing for

the family and achieving their career goals. Also, this parenting style assumes that kids will be

obedient and ready to learn from their parents. In reality, this isn't always the case. Some

children could be stubborn, insulting, and aloof due to factors outside the parent’s control, such

as genetics, playmates, and experiences in school and their environment. Lastly, there's also a

risk that children will develop low self-esteem if parents become too demanding and reduce their

responsiveness due to lack of time. Parents can avoid this by balancing their demands with a

high level of responsiveness.

Conclusion

Of the four major parenting styles, authoritative parenting is the best for preparing a child to

become independent and successful in the future. Authoritative parenting style allows parents to

show some degree of flexibility and strictness simultaneously. This parenting style has a lot of

advantages, as it allows parents to raise children that are emotionally stable and can grow into

independent adults who have a positive impact on society. A few challenges are associated with

authoritative parenting. However, those challenges are insignificant. To build a practical society

that will constantly evolve towards betterment, more parents should be educated and encouraged

to adopt the authoritative parenting style.

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 Reference

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Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance

use. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95.

Brooks J. (2010). The process of parenting. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, pp328.

Cherry, K. (2014) What is authoritative parenting?. About Psychology.

Chakkarath, P. (2010).Stereotypes in social psychology: The “West-East“ differentiation as a

reflection of western traditions of thought. Psychological Studies (Mysore), 55(1),18–25.

Garcia, F. and Gracia, E. (2009). Is always authoritative the optimum parenting style? Evidence

from spanish families. Adolescence, 44(173)102-103.

Huver, R., Otten, R., De Vries, H. and Engels, R. (2010). Personality and Parenting Style in

Parents of Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33(3), 395-402.

Jackson, C. (2002). Perceived legitimacy of parental authority and tobacco and alcohol use

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Timpano, K. R., Keough, M. E., Mahaffey, B., Schmidt, N. B., and Abramowitz, J. (2010).

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https://www.momjunction.com/articles/what is authoritative-parenting_00376548.