There is no one correct parenting style, but some approaches are more likely than other to create the rich, loving relationships you want with your child. Being able to identify and challenge how you parent allows you to cut out unhelpful ideas and stick to those that suit you and your family best.
Positive Elements of a Parenting Style
Playful – this is a quality to be cherished. If you have this type of parenting style, you’ll dedicate many hours to your child’s development through play and stimulation.
Warm – this encompasses the many ways you show love to your child. It is in the physical affection you show, your gentle tone of voice, the softening in your expression when you see or think of her, and the unconditional love you feel.
Firm but fair – You establish a clear routine for your child but don’t apply it so rigidly that she misses out on play dates or other activities. You have a few simple house rules but don’t go overboard with a long list of do’s and don’ts.
Consistent – a predictable routine and the same rules and rewards applied regularly means your child knows where she stands.
Confident – you have the confidence to make parenting decisions and stick to them. You do not fear losing your child’s love when you apply consequences for misbehavior, since the bond between you is strong.
Team Player – whether you parent with a partner or have your own parents or friends helping you raise your child, it is helpful to discuss and agree your parenting values, discipline strategies, and rewards.
Parenting Styles to Avoid
Volatile – you try to stay calm, but there are times when you shout and fume. No parent is expected to stay perfectly calm at all times, but feelings of anger directed at your toddler can be distressing and unsettling for your child.
Permissive – a style which gives little or no routine, few limits or guidance on behavior, and no parental authority can be very frightening for a young child, since their world does not feel predictable, safe, and secure.
Authoritarian – you may have high aspirations for your child, but these translate into expectations of her behavior which are almost unattainable.
What’s your parenting style? Tell us and you could win a copy of DK’s Ask and Expert: Answers Every Parent Needs to Know. Gather will draw one respondent who comments by Monday, August 10th to win.
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Comments: 30
I would say 9/10 times though most situations can be corrected through walking through our children in what they're doing wrong and learning to correct it the next time - even though it make take a few walk-throughs (okay MANY) before they understand what is good and bad behavior! :)
We did foster care for years and worked with older kids, so we have seen what kids can end up like without a nurturing and loving start to life.
However I try to follow the "love and Logic" approach to parenting. I give my children choices. They can either go up to their room or be carried up to their room, clean their room or not go to the movie, etc.
I love to play with my kids to from playing basketball to coloring with them.
We also do choices for behavior. If he starts acting up when we are out, we ask him if he wants to finish shopping and then go to the park or wherever, or if he wants to act up and not go to the park. For a while he made the wrong choice sometimes, but since he knows we follow through on the choices he makes, he makes the right one most of the time now!
discipline, we do not spank. We take away computer time, etc.
she has not had that taken away yet, so we must be doing something right.
As Christian parents, we believe in God's guidance in our lives and parenting
as well.
We do have fun as well. She is an only child, so sometimes we give in
easily on certain things.
But she does know there are consequences if she does something
she know she should not done. for an example, If we ask her to clean her room,
and she does not, she knows she cannot play a game on the computer.
She is a great child, and we have had very little problems.
I just hope once she is a teenager it stays that way.
Also going to church is a big help for all of us as a family.
So far, (knock on wood) we have had very little problems with our almost 16 yr. old and our 12 1/2 yr. old.
i conceived. We both work from home, and this was opted
to make sure our baby gets all the attention and love
from both of us.
Our daughter is 2 years today and we are feel proud of
ourselves to have her grow with love and affection,
well discipline and well mannered.
We were both sure that a child can brought up with
love, a hug early morning from her dad made her day...
mama by her side and around her gives her the feeling
of being secured...
She is corrected promptly by her dad when misbehaved and the
next moment she is all for him saying "i Love you dad"
with this she knows that her dad is there to
teach her to be disciplined.
Our approach towards her has always been gentle, as she
is a cheerful and a loving baby.....right from her birth.
I would love to share this book with our daughter and son-in-law who are a year into being parents.
Bedtime is usually enforce during the school year. In the summer she often falls asleep on her own by 10. I must admit that I have had a problem with consistency in the past. I am working on it. Children think that you are a joke if they have no consistency. I want the best for my child as any parent does. I am learning as I go.