What’s your parenting style like? A mum blogger asked her followers this question and i saw people arguing about old school and new school parenting.
At first i became dumbfounded like what are they talking about? Oh, old school is the style our own parent utilised in raising us while new school is the “Ajebutter” style. Hilarious. Looking at the responses generally, it appeared like most of them on the thread utilise the old school style with majority ending their view with “I am an old-school parent”.
The interesting thing about being a parent is that there is a great variation in how we raise our children. I don’t subscribe to the idea of what a great parenting style looks like or should be. What matters is making sure that the child you are raising can be a successful, productive, self-thinking, independent, confident member of society with high morals and values. If your approach to parenting (Old school or new school) will yield these benefits, then you are doing well.
This made me do a bit of research into this area and I found out that researchers have grouped parents into four common parenting styles with each having different characteristics;
- Authoritarian; If you consider yourself a disciplinarian, chances are that you fall in this category. Parents who use one-way communication with little or no chance for the child to negotiate, strict discipline style with high expectation without flexibility are considered an authoritarian parent.
- Permissive; Permissive parents are also indulgent parents. They often let their children do what they want and offer limited guidance or direction. If you act more like a friend than parent to your child, then you belong here. This means you are not strict; you allow your kids figure out problems on their own, you let them decide for themselves rather than giving direction, warm and nurturing.
- Uninvolved; If you are the type that gives a lot of freedom, then you are uninvolved. You are often unsure of what to do or just less interested in parenting. You let your child do what they want either due to lack of information or caring, you offer little nurturing and does little communication.
- Authoritative; If you are an authoritative parent, then you are reasonable and nurturing. Your kind of parent sets set high and clear expectations. You communicate frequently with your child and your disciplinary rules and the reasons behind them are clear. This style is considered most beneficial to children as it enables them to be self-disciplined and think for themselves.
So, I ask again, what’s your parenting style? Don’t forget to share this with your network by clicking the share button below .
