Authoritative Vs Permissive Parenting

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Each family has its own ideas of raising their children. Authoritative parenting, permissive parenting, and the balance out of both. Understanding the differences between these parenting styles can possibly influence parents to self-reflect on their own strategies and potentially make changes. Working as an au-pair for over a year now, taking care of a four year old, makes me see that my mother had a different parenting style than the family I work for now. Is authoritative parenting better than permissive parenting, or is a balance of both forms the better way to raise my future children?

There are major differences between authoritative and permissive parenting. (Verial, 2013)

While the authoritative style sets limits for a child, it still …show more content…

However, the family I am staying with, rather uses the permissive parenting style. One example is, when my mother told me "no" in a situation, I knew it meant exactly that. A second "no" meant warning, a third "no" meant consequences or some sort of punishment for not listening to what she had said. The little girl I am the nanny for, doesn 't have to follow such a rule, as her parents do not mind having to repeat "no" many times to show patience and giving the girl more time to comprehend what they are asking of her. However, I catch myself struggling in such situations while I remain respectful of the parents ' wishes and parenting style it is hard for me not to act as an authoritative influence, although I know it will make some situations easier. However, I do not want to disrespect her parents and give them the impression that I think their way of parenting is completely …show more content…

Picking one over the other parenting style is not the solution for me. Parenting seems to be work in progress and a parent might not know how to react to certain situations at the beginning but learns how to deal with them after gaining more experience. Reflecting on my childhood and my mother 's authoritative parenting style, I realize that the set boundaries created emotional security and trust in the relationship between my mother and I. It taught me how to evaluate situations to make adult decisions. Essentially, the authoritative parenting style was good for me. At the same time, I know children are all different, and therefore may require different parenting