Opinion

Island Parenting: What Is Your Parenting Style?

How familiar are you with the four different parenting styles also known as Baumrind’s Parenting Typology? The clinical and developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind; first classified them as authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. A fourth neglectful parenting was later added. The authoritarian parent employs a military style approach to parenting. His or her parenting style is rigid and controlling. Did you know that the authoritative style is said to be the most balanced and healthiest style of parenting? The authoritative parent sets limits but also considers the child’s point of view. The permissive parent is indulgent and lets the child do whatever he or she wants. The neglectful parent is simply neglectful or uninvolved. Do you have a parenting style? Where do you fall on the parenting style spectrum? I have provided some additional characteristics of the aforementioned parenting styles so that you may do an assessment to see where you fall on the parenting style spectrum....