A Parenting Style will depend on a person’s previous experiences of their own upbringing, values, beliefs, knowledge, education, age, gender and media influences. An Authoritarian parenting style involves one or both of the parents making decisions without the consultation of the children. Children have a high expectation from the parents and if the expectations are not met the children are usually punished and also the children are rarely praised or rewarded for their positive behaviour.
The children may not develop the ability to make decisions and may not accept responsibility if a decision is not made. Children may also not want to discuss problems with the parents for the fear of the punishment, and the children may also rebel against this method of parenting without regard for the consequences. A Democratic parenting style lets all the family members have a say about decisions made and all family members are seen as equal, the parents that follow this style have complete trust in their children and the actions or decisions made by the children.
The parents encourage their children to be independent and make decisions and also to take responsibility for the resulting effect of their actions. Rewards or punishments are talked about and negotiated with the family and if goals are set and then achieved the rewards are often received by the children. Although decisions are made within the family, conflict may occur due to one or more of the family members not getting what they wanted in the situation. This type of parenting style may not be very effective in a crisis or emergency due to people wanting to discuss what should be done without taking any immediate action.
