Parenting Styles

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Parenting Styles

Understanding Behavior & Family Dynamics ECE 355

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Parenting Styles

Authoritative parenting style is the most popular style. The parents are very nurturing towards their children, set rules and expectations that are enforced with consistency (Cherry, 2019). Baumrind (1966) described authoritative parents as parents who promote “verbal give and take.” Wardle & Fitzpatrick (2016) states, “authoritative parents expect their children to take on more responsibility as they grow older, but they are also flexible and willing to compromise.” For example I give my grandson a set of chores to complete when he spends the weekend with me. He has to take dinner dishes to the kitchen, wipe down dinner table, dust off the shelves in family the family room and take out the trash. My grandson is aware that within the household we help one another with chores. Authoritarian parenting style is very strict. The parents are not very nurturing towards the children, the parents set strict rules for the children to follow, and the parents talk to the children in a shaming manner (Trautner, 2017). Baumrind (1966) described authoritarian parents as wanting to “shape, control, and evaluate the behavior and attitudes of the child.” On Sunday (at Chuck E. Cheese) I came across a mother who was watching her two daughters playing a game called air hockey. The two girls were having a wonderful time pushing the hockey puck back and forward with their hands laughing and giggling while feeling the soft brush of air on the game table top. While the girls were doing this the mother stated yelling at the girls “that’s not how you play the game, your to use this thing (holding up the hockey stick) here

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I’m not sure what you call it but use this to play the game”, she steps away and continues to watch the girls. The girls went back to playing the game with their hands pushing the puck back and forth into the hole to score points laughing and giggle. The mother became angry pushed one of the girls aside and says “look you dummy didn’t I just tell your stupid tail to use the stick, can’t even follow simple directions. I’m going to show you how it’s done and if you don’t get it right you’re going to sit down at the table until it’s time to go home.” The mother proceeded to push the hockey pick using the hockey stick across the table while the other daughter used her hands and the mother yelled “no use the stick” the little girl started crying and yelled back at her mother “no I don’t want to use that dumb, stupid stick I want to use my hands.” The mother didn’t like that response and made both girls get their jackets and they left Chuck E. Cheese.

Authoritative parenting style can help the behavior of a child in many ways. Dewar (2017), states kids raised by authoritative parents are more “likely to become independent, self-reliant, socially accepted, academically successful, and well-behaved.” Parents can model this behavior by showing their two or three year old child how to comb their hair and dress themselves; how to clean their room and be patient; share toys and apology to friends and play games. Another way to help with the behavior of children according to Child Welfare Information Gateway (2013c) is to support parenting education. These programs will provide workshops for the parents to receive the help needed to improve their parenting skills.

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As educators it is our duties to provide our parents the information such as children’s developmental milestone, strategies or activities to help with discipline, and effect communication strategies to help with social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of our children. We must help the parent become knowledgeable about their children learning habits such as what books they enjoy reading, what foods they like to eat, how well they respond to potty training, or what songs they like to sing and dance to.

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References

Cherry, K. (2019). Authoritative Parenting: Characteristics and Effects a parenting style that focus on balance. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com

Dewar, G. (2017). The Authoritative Parenting Style: An evidence-based guide. Retrieved from https://www.parentingscience.com

Grobman, K.H. (2008). Diana Baumrind’s (1966) prototypical descriptions of 3 parenting styles. Retrieved from http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/parenting/baumrind_styles.html

Trautner, T. (2017). Authoritarian Parenting Style. Retrieved from https://www.canr.msu.edu

Wardle, F., & Fitzpatrick, T. (2016). Children & Families: Understanding behavior & dynamics.

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