Authoritative parenting is a parenting style characterized by high levels of warmth, nurturing, and parental involvement, but also by high levels of control, structure, and expectations for maturity.
Authoritative parents set clear rules and boundaries for their children, but also provide explanations and reasoning for those rules, and encourage their children to express their own opinions and feelings.
They also provide guidance and support, but also give their children autonomy and the freedom to make their own choices.
Examples of authoritative parenting include:
- Setting clear rules and boundaries for their children and enforcing them consistently, but also providing explanations and reasoning for those rules.
- Encouraging their children to express their own opinions and feelings and listening to them actively.
- Providing guidance and support while also giving their children autonomy and the freedom to make their own choices.
- Monitoring their children’s activities and behavior but also giving them privacy and respect.
- Balancing discipline and nurturing by providing appropriate consequences for their children’s behavior but also showing them love and affection.
- Setting high expectations for their children’s maturity and behavior but also being flexible and responsive to their changing needs.
- Helping their children to develop self-control, self-reliance, and problem-solving skills.
- Establishing open lines of communication, and having regular family meetings to discuss issues, and to share feedback.
Authoritarian parenting, on the other hand, is characterized by strict, rigid rules and a lack of warmth and nurturing. Authoritarian parents often make decisions for their children without consulting them or taking their feelings into account and use punishment as a means of control.
They may also be less involved in their children’s lives and less responsive to their needs.
The effects of authoritarian parenting on child development can be detrimental. Children raised by authoritarian parents may have difficulty expressing themselves, lack self-esteem, and have difficulty making decisions.
They may also struggle with problem-solving skills and have difficulty with relationships. They may also have a higher risk for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
