What should you do to be a better parent?

Which type of parent are you: authoritarian, democratic, lax, or uncaring? What then ought to be done to parent in a healthy, middle-range manner?

All parents are terrified as the new school year gets underway. Families with children have to worry about getting their kids back into a routine after they've been bogged down by the summer, adhering to new course schedules, finding the most complete and affordable school supply source, helping their new students adjust to school and setting up transport services.

Amidst the complexity and urgency, certain parenting styles might facilitate the process while others can exacerbate it.

Nonetheless, it is feasible to navigate the school rush in a composed manner and even turn it into a beneficial and healthy experience for families.

For a long time, scholars and clinical psychologists have attempted to characterise what parenting is.

Of these definition attempts, one of the most widely recognised categories is

Diana Baumrind is a University of California clinical and developmental psychologist, and she owns it.

Based on his studies with preschoolers, Baumrind proposed three fundamental parenting philosophies in 1966: permissive, authoritarian, and democratic.

Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin introduced a fourth parenting style, negligent parenting, to the previous three in 1983.

Now let's look at various parenting philosophies' traits and how they affect kids.

This is the parenting approach that has the best overall impact on the child out of the four.

Democratic parents set the appropriate boundaries but also want and encourage their kids to be involved in decision-making.

Let's take the scenario where a child must select a sport when they first attend school. A democratic parent asks their child what they think about something and listens to them. They commend and encourage the child for making this decision if they believe they are doing so in a rational manner.

But if the child makes an apparent nonsensical decision—for instance, if a child who has excelled in swimming for the past two years, made the school team, and wants to quit swimming this year to play volleyball instead—the parent who practices democratic parenting first hears the child out on why he made this decision.

If the kid finds these arguments unpersuasive, they are reviewed with them and, if needed, they are encouraged to speak with other adults who can provide guidance in this area (such as a swimming coach).

These parents are interested in their kids' learning processes; they are aware of their skills, areas in which their kids excel, and subjects in which they might need some extra help.

They pay attentive, patient attention to what their kids have to say. They encourage their kids to learn from their mistakes and let them make mistakes.

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