Information about authoritarian, permissive and democratic parenting styles and how they impact children.

1. Bombay Cambridge Gurukul

2. DIFFERENT PARENTING
STYLES

3. The Authoritarian Parent
An authoritarian parent
attempts to control a child's
behaviour and attitudes,
stressing the importance of
obedience to authority and
discouraging discussion.

4. Authoritarian Parents
Parents who use this method of
parenting tend to rely upon
punishment - spanking or other
physical measures. Parents are
probably demanding of their child
and may not give much in return.
The family environment could be
very rigid and controlling. The child
might grow up feeling lost, without
guidance and could lack self-
confidence in making decisions

5.  They rank lowest in self-
respect. They have little
ability to conform to rules or
authority.
 The rigid harshness of the
parent breaks the spirit of the
child and results in
resistance, "claming up,“ or
rebellion.
Possible reactions by children who
have authoritarian parents

6.  The child usually does not
want anything to do with
his/her parents' rules or
values. S/he tends to reject the
ideals of his parents.
 These children are also
likely to grow up unable to
handle power and authority.
They may tend to misuse it
and therefore be unhappy.

7.  The child may be attracted to
children who rebel against their
parents and the general rules of
society. They may use drugs and
participate in other illegal
activities.
 The child may be loud and
demanding of his/her rights. In a
classroom setting, s/he may
cause disruption in order to gain
attention from others or be

9. Permissive parents
A permissive parent
exercises minimal control.
Children are allowed to set
their own schedules and
activities.

10. Permissive parents (contd)
Those who have the ‘permissive’
parenting style, may treat their child as
an adult by letting them make their own
decisions. They don't impose rules on
their child. The child may have control
over meals, sleeping times and his/her
behaviour. They probably have few
restrictions in their daily lives. These
children might have future problems
dealing with rules and regulations, and
they often make decisions with
consequences they're not prepared to

11. Possible reactions by children
who have permissive parents
 The child senses that s/he is
in the driver's seat and can play
the parent accordingly.
 S/he develops a feeling of
insecurity, which is like leaning
against a wall that appears to
be firm, but falls over.

12. Possible reactions by children
who have permissive parents
 The child may have little self-
respect because s/he has not
learned to control himself/herself
and master certain personal
disciplines.
 S/he learns that because
standards are not firm, s/he can
manipulate around the rules.

14. A Democratic parent operates on
the belief that both the child and the
parent have certain rights and that the
needs of both are important. The
parent is sure that s/he is in control
and doesn't need to assert physical
force to keep the child on the right
track. Rather, a democratic parent is
more likely to control his/her child by
setting rules and explaining why
these rules are important.
‘Democratic’ or ‘Balanced’
Parents

15. A Democratic parent is
demanding of their child but they
give in return as well. They are
open to discussion and
negotiation, giving the child
firmness and self-control. The
parent-child relationship is based
on respect. Children learn social
skills and their self-image is a
positive one.
“Democratic” or “Balanced”
Parents(contd)

16. Balanced parents usually have
clearly defined rules, limits, and
standards for living. They take time to
train their children to understand these
limits - like why we don't make noise
when people are sleeping and give clear
warnings when a child has transgressed
an established limit. But they also give
support by expressing physical affection
and spending personal time listening to
their child. They are flexible and willing to
listen to all the facts if a limit has been
‘Democratic’ or ‘Balanced’
Parents

17.  The warm support and clearly
defined limits tend to build self-
respect within the child.
 A child is more content when
s/he has learned to control
herself/himself.
Possible characteristics of
children who have ‘Democratic’
or ‘Balanced’ parents

18.  His/her world is more secure
when s/he realizes that there are
limits which are unbending, and
when s/he understands the
underlying principles.
Because the spirit of a child is not
broken, the lines of communication
are open with parents. There is
less chance of the ‘rebellious’ teen
Possible characteristics of
children who have ‘Democratic’
or ‘Balanced’ Parents

19. The children of loving and firm
parents ranked highest in:
 Self-respect
 Capacity to conform to
authorities at school, community etc.,
 Greater interest in their parents
 Greater tendency not to join a
rebellious group.
Possible characteristics of children
who have ‘Democratic’ or
‘Balanced’ Parents

20. is to have a
little of all the
three
categories. We
all can benefit
from knowing
how our
interactions
with our
children will

21. BombayCambridgeGurukul