Expert research has shown that different points of view affect how parents raise their children. Parents generally interact with their children using one of four main attitudes. These attitudes include the following: democratic, authoritarian, overly protective, and permissive.
Democratic Attitude
This mentality is characterized by a predominance of sharing and equitable behavior. Parents talk to their kids about independence. The child is regarded as an individual of the household and has the right to communicate within the context of this attitude. A child who is brought up with a democratic way of thinking isn’t afraid to say what he thinks and grows up to be an independent person.
Authoritarian Attitude
Authoritarian behavior is when rules and instructions are the most important things and kids aren’t allowed to say what they think. Parents who engage in this behavior demand perfection from their children. If a youngster doesn’t live up to these perfectionist standards, they are disciplined. Parents want their kids to follow instructions and do as they are told. The youngster has less opportunity in this setting to grow in personality and aptitude. The child’s sense of self is harmed, and this causes his confidence to drop and his level of anxiety to rise.
Overly Protective Attitude
Parents display protective and invasive behaviors when they have an overprotective mentality. The child is not given the chance to develop many of the skills and abilities that they need in order to function independently, which are handled by the parents. These attitudes tend to result in children who are overly reliant on their parents. At the same time, the child shows feelings of uncertainty, disappointment, lack of emotional control, trouble making decisions, and not enough sense of responsibility.
Permissive Attitude
The parents adopt an excessively tolerant stance with a permissive attitude. Parents who behave in this way have little influence over their kids. Parents who give their children a lot of freedom cannot limit their children to making their own decisions. Parents are able to accept a child’s wants without conditions. It has been seen that children who grow up with this kind of thinking have trouble making friends as adults. In a similar way, as adults, they find it hard to control their wants and follow the rules of the places they go.
What mentality do you believe you have regarding your child? Or are you trying to stay neutral while taking your child’s growth into account?
References:
- Erhan Alabay, Investigation of Parenting Attitudes of Parents Whose Children are at Preschool Age, Journal of Early Childhood Studies, 2017.