Parker Miller

Psychology
Term Project: Parenting Patterns
29 July 2014

I will discuss parenting patterns and how these patterns affect the development
of children. Below each article hyperlink I will provide a description, analysis, and
explanation of the material and how it related to what we learned about this topic in
class. I have pointed out which articles are research-based.

1) http://www.lifescript.com/well-being/articles/d/
different_types_of_parenting_styles.aspx?
gclid=CLzI7Nn75r8CFQaCMgod4msARg&trans=1&du=1&ef_id=U9W2MAAABf6i5w
PO:20140728023216:s
This article describes three patterns of parenting: Authoritarian, permissive, and
authoritative. The rst is presented as a structured pattern where children are almost
asked to obey blindly and succumb to the will of their parents. This method may be
good for children who have issues and need strict guidance, but for those who are
naturally on a straight course this parenting style may cause a lack of self esteem.
Permissive parenting is much more relaxed and exible. Kids cannot do whatever they
want, but they have much greater boundaries. Creativity is fostered and there is more
freedom. Although the kids may enjoy this technique, it can result in selsh, spoiled,
and immature individuals. Authoritative parenting is thought to be the best of both
worlds. It is balanced. There is a mixture of structure and exibility. In this democratic
setting parents reserve the right to make the major decisions, but often allow the
children to take control of all smaller decisions. This is generally the most successful
parenting style and can be crafted to each individual child. The article was very
accurate and all the information was identical to what we learned in class.

RESEARCH
2) http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/parenting-style.htm
In the 1960s, a psychologist by the name of Diana Baumrind performed a test on
100 preschool age children in an attempt to nd how different parenting styles affected
them. Four principles appeared to be key: disciplinary strategies, warmth and
nurturance, communication styles, and expectations of maturity and control. Baumrind
performed naturalistic observations and parental interviews and came up with four
parenting styles: Authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved. Children
raised by Authoritarian parents do well generally, but are unhappy. Those raised by
permissive parents perform poorly and are unhappy, generally speaking. Authoritative
parents tend to raise happy, capable, and successful children. Uninvolved parents
provide for their children, but they make few demands and take part in very little
communication. Their children usually rank lowest in achievement and are the least
happy. These ndings appear to be extremely accurate and are parallel with what was
taught in class.


3) http://www.parentingscience.com/parenting-styles.html
This article once again covered Baumrinds research and the four parenting
patterns previously discussed. It also went into further detail on specic topics. It is
possible for parents to mix parenting styles. Sometimes parents may be permissive, but
when they are better prepared and more energetic they may become authoritative or
authoritarian. However, parents usually stick with a certain parenting style whether they
realize it or not. It was also discovered that the four parenting style arent universal. In
75% of American-Korean families observed the parenting styles did not t into any of
the four discussed. Also, it may be benecial to think about two parents with two
different parenting styles in the same home. The father could be permissive while the
mother is authoritative. When this happens research shows that kids develop better if
at least one of the parents is authoritative. Although parenting styles cannot explain
everything, it has also been found that problem behavior in children is usually tied to
poor parenting. As a whole the article was very sound and agreed completely with what
was taught in class.

4) RESEARCH
http://www.education.com/reference/article/parenting-styles1/
Baumrinds four styles were once again examined and discussed. Greater
emphasis was placed upon the effects of the different parenting styles. Authoritative
parents tend to have children who are happy, responsible, kind, problem-solvers, self-
motivated, cooperative, condent, and leaders. Children raised by authoritarian parents
are usually moody, anxious, well-behaved, average-good students, and followers.
Permissive parents children are demanding, whiny, easily frustrated, lack kindness and
empathy, poor-average students, and followers. Uninvolved parents have children who
are clingy, needy, inappropriate, rude, troublemakers, poor students, and followers. The
roles that ethnicity and culture play in parenting styles was also discussed. Native
American parents are generally more permissive while Chinese parents are usually very
controlling and authoritarian. European American households tend to fall somewhere in
between. It was pointed out that all of the research done on parenting styles will never
be 100% accurate due to parents who want to present themselves and their families in
the best light and children who do not fully comprehend their parents actions, but overall
the principles that have been presented ring true and are widely accepted. The article
was accurate and related to our in-class discussion on parenting styles.

5) RESEARCH
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200903/parenting-style-and-
procrastination
In the 1980s Esther Rothblum felt that overly critical parents raised children who
avoided accomplishing tasks. High expectations resulted in perfectionism which
resulted in procrastination. In an attempt to locate a relationship between parenting
style and procrastination a group of 105 middle-high school children with an average
age of 13.5 years old were tested. The data showed that authoritative parenting, a
mixture of high demands and nurture, resulting in low procrastination. Females were
more directly affected by their fathers criticism than their mothers and that caused
procrastination. In males there was no relationship found between parents being critical
and procrastination. Authoritarian parenting usually results in children who
procrastinate. Although the psychologists stated that more research needs to be done
on this topic, the ndings seem to t with what we have learned in class.