Every parent wants them. Parents are often envious when they see other parents with them. They make our lives so much easier, but at times they seem to hard to obtain. We dream about them and work so tirelessly to get them. No, we’re not talking about additional hours of sleep (although that too, is a thing). We’re talking about obedient children. While no two parents are alike, researchers have discovered that parents’ behavior tends to fall into one of four categories when it comes to disciplining their children and trying to make them more obedient.

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the different parenting styles with the key understanding that different parenting styles can clash and sometimes cause issues. If you are dealing with a child custody or family law issue in Atlanta, contact The Fairell Firm for help.

This type of parenting style is considered more of the traditional approach to parenting. When it comes to discipline, the parents make the rules and expect the children to obey them with little consideration of the feelings of the children. Children are expected to follow the rules with no discussion regarding why a particular rule is in place or how the rule can be adapted to give more consideration to their desires. This method is more of the “do what I say and don’t ask any questions” version of parenting. Some characteristics of this parenting style include: having strict rules, often engaging in power struggles with children, strictly enforcing rules and then giving harsh punishments when children do not obey, and not communicating expectations with children.

This parenting style is more child-centered, with parents giving more consideration to their children’s feelings and engaging children in the rule-making and problem solving process. Authoritative parenting focuses more on teaching the child to be the decision maker and models thinking through problems and finding solutions. Authoritative parents explain why the child should follow the rules in place rather than just simply instructing the child to obey. Under this model, failure to follow the rules results in a related consequence rather than a punishment. Authoritative parenting looks like: listening to your child’s perspective, but remaining firm until the child does the task that they’ve been asked to do; having flexible rules but also making clear, direct requests.

Permissive parents tend to take a more hands-off approach when it comes to their children’s behavior. Also, permissive parents are much more lenient, allowing their children to have their way most of the time, and only enforcing consequences when the behavior issue is more serious. Permissive parents tend to be less consistent with enforcing consequences for undesirable behavior and will give in to their children’s desires often to avoid confrontation. Permissive parents often beg their children for cooperation, get flustered with their child’s behavior, and are inconsistent with their expectations.

This type of parenting tends to only occur in the most extreme cases. Neglectful parents fail to care for their children’s emotional and physical needs. Neglectful parents are not aware of what is happening in their children’s lives; they often do not know their children’s teachers or friends. These parents may spend long periods away from home or leave their children home alone often. Researchers recommend parenting education for neglectful parents to help them engage with their children and teach them how to provide a loving home environment for their children.

Parenting is challenging and often cited as the toughest, but most important, job there is. While no parent is perfect, we are all tasked with trying to be the best parent we can to our children, providing a safe and loving environment for them and teaching them how to be good, kind individuals. We at the Fairell FIrm believe that the first step to good parenting is spending time with your children. The Atlanta-based attorneys at The Fairell Firm can help you successfully work out child custody or other family law issues that may be affecting the time you spend with your children. Call today at 678.973.2803 or contact us to schedule a consultation.