Parenting Styles

According to Berger (2008), there are three different types of parenting styles. The first one being authoritarian, which is when the parent lays down the "law" and there is no negotiating the rules. This is found to be your really strict parents. The second parenting style is permissive, which is when the parent acts more like your friend. The third parenting style is much like how I grew up, an authoritative parenting style is when the parents listen to their children, but still have rules and limits set. My parents had to set limits and rules when they had five children to raise; however, they always listened to us and let us explain ourselves. My parents were very forgiving when we may not have done something to the exact way they wanted us to. Instead they would take what we did wrong and turn it into a lesson for us to learn from. I appreciate this parenting style because I look up to my parents with respect, and I do not resent them for the way we were raised. Now that I am in college I have a very good relationship with my parents still to this day, and I like to think it is because of the way they raised me. If I need advice on something important it is often them who I call because I know they will listen to me without judging me and tell me what the right thing to do is. They really have made me into who I am today and I hope to do the same for my children one day.

Berger, S. K. (2008). The Developing Person: Through the Life Span. New York, NY: Worth Publisher.