What is the Most Harmful Parenting Style?
Your parenting style affects your child’s emotional, social, and physical development. This is why it’s essential to find a style that works best for your family. There are several different styles, and each of them has its pros and cons. But which one is the most harmful?
Uninvolved Parenting
Uninvolved parenting is a parenting style in which children receive minimal guidance, discipline, and nurturing. It can be triggered by a parent’s mental health issues or substance abuse problems. Still, it’s expected when a parent lacks emotional ties with their child and feels disconnected.
Parents who use this style tend to provide trim for their kids outside of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. This parenting style can be detrimental for kids as it lacks emotional support, physical time with their parents, and fundamental emotional, social, and academic needs.
Researchers believe that children raised by parents using this style perform poorly in nearly all areas of life and have a variety of behavioral, cognitive, social, emotional, and coping skills deficits. Specifically, they suffer from low self-esteem and lack the courage to take risks and make the right choices.
Authoritative Parenting
Authoritative parenting is a type of parenting that emphasizes clear boundaries and consistent rules. It’s a style that balances strictness and warmth, and it is more effective than other parenting styles.
This parenting style also considers kids’ emotions and focuses on nurturing children’s needs. It’s an excellent way to help children learn self-control and resilience.
In contrast, uninvolved parents may ignore their child’s feelings and offer no support. In this case, the child may turn to peer pressure or a teacher for help.
On the other hand, an authoritative parent would consider their child’s feelings and listen to them carefully before deciding. They might decide their child should bathe rather than spend five more minutes playing. This shows their child that they value them and that they respect their wishes.
Permissive Parenting
Permissive parenting is the style of parenting where parents do not enforce any limits and do not put up firm boundaries. This parenting technique can harm children, who are prone to poor academic performance and lack the necessary social skills to get ahead.
According to the American Psychological Association, it also cultivates kids who are impulsive, rebellious, aimless, and bossy.
The best way to curb the adverse effects of permissive parenting is by putting up firm boundaries and setting clear expectations for your child. This will help your child learn to behave appropriately and develop the discipline they need to succeed.
It may be difficult for some parents to change their parenting style, but therapy can help. A therapist who works with parents, children, and families can help you learn new skills to become a more authoritative parent.
Authoritarian Parenting
Authoritarian parenting is a style of parenting that emphasizes strict rules and disciplinary methods. It is characterized by high demands, minimal sensitivity or responsiveness to children, and often includes a rigid hierarchy of control (Baumrind 1991).
While this may help ensure that kids follow instructions, the rigid rules can confuse kids unsure of what to do next. They may become frustrated and resentful of their parent’s expectations and feel like they have no control over their own lives.
This can lead to low self-esteem and a lack of empathy from their parents. This makes them treat others with little regard for their feelings, making them more likely to mistreat their children.
Kids may also be less able to express their feelings as they grow up, making them anxious and confused. They may also be more likely to rebel against their parents if they grow up in an authoritarian home.