Authoritative Parenting
Requires Listening And Setting Limits
My parents tried very hard. I
suspect that most parents try very hard. But like most people, I
think that I could do better than they did. You see, my parents
were not the most authoritative parents. Really, they could
never agree on a parenting style that worked for them. My dad
was a permissive, uninvolved parent. He let me do whatever I
wanted, and was largely unaware of my life. My mom, on the other
hand, was very strict. She was not into authoritative parenting.
She was into authoritarian parenting. She believed that
discipline was the most important thing in the world, and that I
needed to learn to do what I was told.
The problem was that their parenting styles did not match. My
dad was lenient, which I liked, but was uninvolved with my life.
My mom was quite interested in my life, but she had no interest
in giving me any autonomy. Neither of them was an authoritative
parent. Neither of them was willing to make decisions, yet also
to listen to my concerns. Because of this, I have had to deal
with many problems growing up that people with proper
authoritative parents do not have to deal with.
When I have kids, I will make sure to develop an authoritative
parenting style. I think that authoritative parents make the
best role models. You see, children need two things growing up.
They need to know that their parents care, and they need to know
that there are limits. Authoritative parenting embraces both of
these concepts. Authoritative parents are not afraid to set
limits, but at the same time they are always there to listen to
their children. That way, the children grow up with rules, but
at the same time they grow up with someone who is willing to
take their input on matters that concern them. That is why
authoritative parenting is better than other styles.
Of course, learning authoritative parenting is not as simple as
reading a book, but it can start with reading a book. The
problem with learning authoritative parenting is that you often
have to unlearn everything that your own parents taught you.
People tend to raise their children the way they were raised. To
do it in any other way is an uphill struggle. Practicing
authoritative parenting, in spite of coming from a dysfunctional
household, will probably be difficult. I hope I'm up to the
challenge.
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