Parenting is one of the most rewarding yet challenging roles in life, requiring a balance of love, guidance, and discipline to help children grow into responsible and confident individuals.
Parenting styles are essential tools that provide structure and support for navigating the complexities of raising children in today’s world. These styles help parents address behavioral issues, foster strong communication, and promote positive development, while also building a nurturing and secure environment. By adopting thoughtful and consistent approaches, parents can better equip themselves to handle the various stages of their child’s growth, ensuring they raise confident, well-adjusted, and resilient individuals.
The 3 Main Parenting Styles (Is there a 4th?)
In most parenting resources, you’ll find that there are three distinct parenting styles. However, there is a fourth that often goes unspoken for. Here is an infographic describing each parenting style.
Out of all of these, the parenting style attached to the most positive outcomes in children is the Authoritative style. Authoritative parenting has been linked to children having higher self-esteem and life-satisfaction scores compared to the other parenting styles ((Ma et al., 2024)
Self-Assessment: What Parenting Style do YOU have? Take the quiz below to find out.
Parenting Quiz - Active Parenting
activeparenting.comParenting styles are influenced by various factors, including cultural backgrounds, which shape family dynamics and child-rearing practices. Shifts in the U.S. demographic makeup, driven by immigration, socioeconomic changes, and an increase in single-parent households, have introduced diverse cultural, ethnic, and spiritual ideologies into parenting. Data from the 2014 U.S. Census show that a quarter of children lived in single-parent households, which tend to face more challenges compared to two-parent families.
Parenting approaches, such as teaching self-regulation and discipline, vary across cultures. Researchers typically categorize parenting into four styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved, though many parents use a blend of these styles depending on the situation (Sanvictores & Mendez., 2022).
Reflection Question: How satisfied are you with your current parenting style? What could you do to improve it?
Written By:
Alejandra Vargas de Gomar
Samantha Laube-Alvesteffer
References
Ma, C., Ma, Y., & Lan, X. (2024). Direct and indirect effects of authoritative parenting and self-esteem on adolescent life satisfaction: A comparative study across varied migration statuses. Current Psychology, 43(29), 24527–24543. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06064-8
Sanvictores, T., & Mendez., M. D. (2022). Types of Parenting Styles and Effects on Children. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568743/.
Sarwar, S. (2016). Influence of Parenting Style on Children’s Behaviour. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1161470.pdf.
