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William Copley
Professor McGriff
ENC 1101

Parenting Styles
I will be comparing both Authoritative and Authoritarian parenting styles, defining what
they are, who is apt to using either or, and how later successful are the children raised in these
environments using these parenting techniques. Is there really a right and wrong way to parent?
Parents we have all been there, at the crossroads of how to parent. We all have one time or
another asked ourselves should we be overly involved, semi-involved, form a dictatorship, or let
things go. In an ever changing world people are quick to judge how parents choose to discipline
or parent their children. There have been many books published on this very topic, but not one is
solely right nor wrong. Researches would have you think one way is better than another, but is it
really? Society deems a parent overbearing if they monitor or parent their child too closely. Lets
look into two different parenting styles and see what they both offer and how they differ, and is
one really better than the other.
Authoritative parenting, is defined as a style of parenting with established rules and
guidelines a child must follow. Parents establish rules as the child grows and the child/children
are expected to follow those set rules. Its more about setting limits, imposed reasoning and
being receptive of your childs emotional needs. Parents using this approach are more prone to
high levels of responsiveness and demandingness. An example of an authoritative parent would
be: His/her 2 year old is playing with Lego blocks and another kid wants to play with the same

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blocks as your child and snatches them out of your childs hand. You would explain to the other
child that your child is playing with the Legos and maybe in a few minutes you both can take
turns playing with the Lego blocks.
According to an article I read the middle class across the world are more likely to use the
Authoritative approach to parenting their child/ren. The studies conducted are not inclusive
because there are no set questions to pin point if a parent falls into one category or another,
therefore there are no prominent numbers for researchers to use that determine how many people
actually use specific styles of parenting.
Children who grow up in an authoritative parenting style are more successful according
to Baumrind, who developed the authoritative parenting model in 1966 while at the University of
California at Berkley. She stated in her research that children that come from authoritative
households are psychologically well- adjusted. They achieve their goals, curious and creative. As
the children grow up they are more capable of managing themselves, more confidant, and
become successful later in life
Next, lets look at Authoritarian parents and what it means. Diana Baumrind defined the
authoritarian parent as one who attempts to control, shape, and evaluate their childs behavior
and attitudes using a set standard of conduct. The parents who use this form of parenting value
obedience. An example of authoritarian parenting would be if a child who is 3 years old and asks
for a snack after already having one earlier in the day the parent would immediately deny the
childs request, because they have a one snack rule in the house. Children from EuropeanAmerican cultures were surveyed said they feel like their parents are cold and distant, however
those from Chinese-American responded saying their parents love them that is why they are so

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strict. So we see here that answers can vary depending on cultural viewpoints and living
situations.
So who uses this type of parenting style? There is no research that pin points an exact
location, ethnic group, or social class, because there are no set statistics that can point one group
over another. Therefore upon research it was said that authoritarian parenting styles are used
throughout the world in many backgrounds, ethnic groups, and classes of people, however it was
suggested that upper class parents use this parenting style more often than others surveyed such
as middle class.
How successful are these children growing up in authoritarian households? According to
many articles that were read, have shown that children in this group do well in school just like
their counterparts in an authoritative upbringing. Children are more likely to be anxious, or
withdrawn. They can become easily frustrated and have poor reactions to situations. These kids
may not grow up to become successful or well-adjusted because they are always being told what
to do. These qualities are unlike those of the authoritative raised child.
We can see from just two of these parenting styles that not one is the same nor are they
that far different from one another. It all depends on the structure of the family, the families
cultural and background upbringing. Another important factor to consider is the well-being of the
child being raised. A family may use a combination of parenting styles to ensure their child
grows up to succeed. There is no study, statistic, or book that can give a parent a direct way to
parent they are all suggestions on methods to be used as tools for parents to consider and/or.

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Works Cited
"Authoritative vs. Authoritarian Parenting Style." Psychology Today. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
"Diana Baumrind's (1966) Prototypical Descriptions of 3 Parenting Styles." Diana Baumrind &
Parenting Styles. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/parent/baumrind_styles.html>.
"The Authoritarian Parenting Style: Controlling Parents In-Depth." Positive Parenting Ally. Web.
18 Feb. 2016. <http://www.positive-parenting-ally.com/authoritarian-parenting-style.html>.

(W.C 918)