Parenting style has been found to predict child well-being in the domains of social competence, academic performance, psychosocial development, and problem behavior

Parenting style has been found to predict child well-being in the domains of social competence, academic performance, psychosocial development, and problem behavior. Parenting is a complex activity that includes many specific behaviors that work individually and together to influence child outcomes. Although specific parenting behaviors, such as spanking or reading aloud, may influence child development, looking at any specific behavior in isolation may be misleading. Your parenting style can affect everything from how much your child weighs to how she feels about herself, so it's important to ensure your parenting style is supporting healthy growth and development. Categorizing parents according to whether they are high or low on parental demandingness and responsiveness creates a typology of four parenting styles: indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative, and uninvolved. Each style has a different take on what a parent's role should be in a child's life. The assignment is going to discuss the four types and their advantages and disadvantages.
Baumrind (1991) defines “Parenting” as a complex activity that includes many specific behaviors that work individually and together to influence child outcomes.
Authoritarian parents are highly demanding and directive, but not responsive. "They are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation" Baumrind, (1991, p. 62). These parents provide well-ordered and structured environments with clearly stated rules. Authoritarian parents can be divided into two types: nonauthoritarian-directive, who are directive, but not intrusive or autocratic in their use of power, and authoritarian-directive, who are highly intrusive. Authoritarian parents, however, also expect their children to accept their judgments, values, and goals without questioning. In contrast, authoritative parents are more open to give and take with their children and make greater use of explanations. Darling and Steinberg (1993) outlines that authoritarian parents are equally high in behavioral control and tend to be high in psychological control. In addition authoritarian parents place high demands on their children and expect their children to behave appropriately and obey parental rules. Authoritarian parenting it sets many rules and closely monitors but offers little support. Parents believe kids should be seen and not heard. When it comes to rules, you believe it's "my way or the highway." The main advantages are, children who grow up with strict authoritarian parents tend to follow rules much of the time. But, they may develop self-esteem problems. Children of authoritarian parents may become hostile or aggressive. However, they also don't allow kids to get involved in problem-solving challenges or obstacles. Authoritarian parents are famous for saying, "Because I said so," when a child questions the reasons behind a rule. They are not interested in negotiating and their focus is on obedience. Authoritarian parents may use punishments instead of discipline. So rather than teaching a child how to make better choices, they're often focused on making a child suffer for his mistakes. Studies show they may also become good liars, as they may grow conditioned to lie to avoid punishment.
Authoritative parents are both demanding and responsive. "They monitor and impart clear standards for their children's conduct. They are assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive, rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative" Baumrind, (1991, p. 62). Authoritative parents place high demands on their children and expect their children to behave appropriately and obey parental rules. Thus, although authoritative and authoritarian parents are equally high in behavioral control, authoritative parents tend to be low in psychological control, while authoritarian parents tend to be high. Authoritative Parenting, is highly supportive and closely monitors and sets rules. “I care, and I will give you the freedoms you earn; but, for safety-related issues, you will do as l say.” If so, you may be an authoritative parent. Like authoritarian parents, authoritative parents establish clear rules. But, they allow for reasonable exceptions to the rules. Authoritative parents often use logical consequences that teach life lessons. They also use positive discipline to prevent behavior problems and to reinforce good behavior. So they may be more likely to create reward systems and praise good behavior. There are advantages of this parenting style like, children raised with authoritative discipline tend to be happy and successful. They're also more likely to be good at making decisions and evaluating safety risks on their own. Researchers have found kids who have authoritative parents are most likely to become responsible adults who feel comfortable expressing their opinions. However,
Indulgent parents (also referred to as "permissive" or "nondirective") "are more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Indulgent parents may be further divided into two types: democratic parents, who, though lenient, are more conscientious, engaged, and committed to the child, and nondirective parents. Permissive parenting is highly supportive but makes few rules and trusts rather than monitors. “I trust you will do the right thing.” Permissive parents are lenient. They often only step in when there's a serious problem. They don't give out consequences very often. They're quite forgiving and they adopt an attitude of "kids will be kids." When they do use consequences, they often give in if a child begs or promises to be good. Chao (1994) propound that permissive parents usually take on more of a friend role than a parent role. They often encourage their children to talk with them about their problems, but they usually don't put much effort into discouraging poor choices or bad behavior. May not discourage a lot of bad behaviors. However this parenting style has got many disadvantages like, kids who grow up with permissive parents tend to struggle academically. They may exhibit more behavioral problems as they don't appreciate authority and rules. They often have low self-esteem and may report a lot of sadness. Maccoby and Martin (1983). Says they're also at a higher risk for health problems, like obesity, because permissive parents struggle to limit junk food intake. They are even more likely to have dental cavities because permissive parents often don't enforce good habits, like ensuring a child brushes his teeth.
Uninvolved parents are low in both responsiveness and demandingness. In extreme cases, this parenting style might encompass both rejecting-neglecting and neglectful parents, although most parents of this type fall within the normal range. Because parenting style is a typology, rather than a linear combination of responsiveness and demandingness, each parenting style is more than and different from the sum of its parts Baumrind, (1991). Uninvolved Parenting sets few rules, does not monitor, and offers little active support. “Kids will be kids-you will learn from your mistakes. Uninvolved parents basically expect children to raise themselves. They usually don't devote much time or energy into meeting children's basic needs. Uninvolved parents are often neglectful. But sometimes, it's not intentional. Barber (1996) outlines that, parent with mental health issues or substance abuse problems, for example, may not be able to care for a child's physical or emotional needs on a consistent basis. At other times, uninvolved parents lack knowledge about child development. And sometimes, they're simply overwhelmed with other problems, like work, paying bills, and managing a household. Uninvolved parents tend to have little knowledge of what their children are doing. There tends to be few rules. Children may not receive much guidance, nurturing, and parental attention. However, when parents are uninvolved, children struggle with self-esteem issues. They tend to perform poorly in school. They also exhibit frequent behavior problems and rank low in happiness.
Conclusively, parenting style provides a robust indicator of parenting functioning that predicts child well-being across a wide spectrum of environments and across diverse communities of children. Both parental responsiveness and parental demandingness are important components of good parenting. Authoritative parenting, which balances clear, high parental demands with emotional responsiveness and recognition of child autonomy, is one of the most consistent family predictors of competence from early childhood through adolescence. Foremost among these are issues of definition, developmental change in the manifestation and correlates of parenting styles, and the processes underlying the benefits of authoritative parenting.