Different Parenting Styles

As many parents as there are in the world, there are different parenting styles. This is not surprising as it is unreasonable to presume that the all parents in the world would subscribe to a single method of parenting. With all the different parenting styles that exist, these styles fall primarily into four main categories: Uninvolved, Indulgent, Dictatorial, and Authoritative.

The Uninvolved Parents

This different parenting style is less a style than an admission that the parent would rather not have children. It is being a parent but not taking responsibility. This type of parent takes a detached approach saying, ‘let them do what they want’. Parents who do not really want to assert themselves as such take this approach.

Parents Who Are Indulgent

While often projected as in the media as the mythical standard, this different parenting style is contrary to what is considered the mainstay of American parenting. Parents who are indulgent are extremely permissive in nature and generally have few or no household rules. Imagine what it might be like to have Madonna as you parent and you probably get the picture.

Parents Who Are Dictatorial

Maybe “Totalitarian” or “Authoritarian” would describe this different parenting style just as well. Similar to some of the dictatorial styles of government that have existed and continue to exist, parents using this style rule with an iron hand and tend to be very strict. Parents like this are misguided into believing that they are parenting this way in an effort to keep their children safe. Unfortunately this different parenting style can be constrictive and stifling for the children.

Parents Who Are Authoritative

This is a different parenting style that seeks to take the best of the Dictatorial approach and the Indulgent approach and combine it into something balanced and beneficial for the child. Behavior is managed by rules and regulations but not in such a way that are not a considered to be lax or just a joke, but they can be relaxed on occasion so that children do not feel that they have no say in their lives. This is perhaps the most balanced different parenting style.
There is no one way for parents to perform their job as parents. Each of the previously listed styles is found in most parents. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but to provide a means of classifying different parenting styles.