Tiger moms, jellyfish dads, and helicopter parents. These terms all refer to various parenting styles and each has been both promoted as an ideal and criticized as “the problem with kids these days.” We will discuss parenting this week, but I’m curious what you think is the “best” way to parent. By “best” I mean most likely to produce children who grow up to be happy, healthy, and productive members of society. Write your post about the ideal way parents should raise their kids.
Throughout the years parenting styles have varied. In my opinion, today there is a multitude of parenting styles which have proven to be effective, but some also have down falls. I imagine as a parent it is difficult to decide which method of parenting to us with their child. Personally, I think every child has different needs and one type of parenting style may be successful on one child but not on the other. For example, if a child is timid and quiet they would not respond to the discipline of yelling and discipline enforcement well. Instead their parent could try to talk to them and explain what they did that was wrong and then enforce their punishment.
As a parent you want the best for your children and I believe that an authoritative method of parenting will help parents achieve this goal. An authoritative parent values a positive relationship with their children. They believe in setting rules and enforcing them, but always take their children’s thoughts and feelings into consideration. Another reason I believe authoritative parents are the most successful is because they explain the reasoning behind rules that are set. This allows the child to learn from their mistakes and ultimately results in the formation of their morals. Authoritative parenting maintains the perfect balance between friend and parent, which allows the child to live happy and healthy leading them to live a successful life in the future.
Growing up my parents combined various parenting methods, with authoritative being the main style. As a child I was a rule follower and hardly caused trouble, but when I did get in trouble a punishment would follow along with an explanation as to why I received the punishment I received. In school I always worked hard and wanted so badly to receive good grades. My brother however lacked the motivation I had. My parents would use positive reinforcement with him, to entice him to get better grades. They would offer him ice cream or something he liked if he got a good grade on his test. Since they used positive reinforcement with him they would do they same for me, so I didn’t feel excluded and I believe they also used me to set an example for him. Now that I am older I appreciate my childhood, everyday was fun and I have a great relationship with both of my parents.
Emily Garvin's Psych Blog 
This was an excellent understanding of different parenting styles. You showed both the positive and negative aspects of how parenting styles worked, and you even included your own personal experiences. I agreed with your statement; authoritative is the best parenting style on average due to the reasons we discussed during class.
As I began to read your post, I also recognized there were numerous parenting styles around the world. We saw in the mini lectures this past week, tiger moms and helicopter parents were two strong parenting styles. In the lecture, tiger moms were prominent in Asian cultures, especially in China. This parenting style was showcased by Amy Chau, who raised her daughters with strict rules, importance on high achievement and perfection, and no emotional support. The support for this parenting style included the praised ability over effort standard and the need for practice. The contradictions against tiger moms associated with higher academic pressure, lower socializing skills, and generational issues. Helicopter parents were considered too involved in their children’s lives. They never wanted their kids to make mistakes or even find their own individualism. This allowed for lower academic motivation and higher uses of pain medications. Lastly, the mini lecture concluded by saying the quality of parental involvement was more important than the quantity of time spent with children.
I believed the authoritative parenting style was the best way to produce a loving and healthy child. This parenting style, on average, produced the most successful children in school, decreased behavior problems, and lowered mental disorders. The lectures discussed this as the best trend in parenting styles. Since it was considered a trend, all children with authoritative parents had not turned out this way.
Chapter four in the textbook and lectures during class described four main parenting styles presented by Diana Baumrind. The four possible parenting styles were authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. The first two parenting styles involved demanding parents, while the other two had lenient parents. Authoritative and permissive parents had warmth and responded to their children’s need; however, authoritarian and uninvolved parents were not accepting. Different parenting styles had been located all around the world and were based on culture, resources available, and social economic status. If one culture used a specific parenting style, it did not mean the same style would work in a different area.
Lastly, I agreed the authoritative style was the best way to parent a healthy child because secure attachments resulted from this method. The child believed the parents were emotionally and physically responsive, so he or she probably had grown into adapting healthy relationships with his or her partner.
Overall, great job on your post!
LikeLike