Authoritative Vs Permissive Parents Analysis

In “Authoritative vs. Authoritarian or Permissive Parents” written by Nancy Samalin, the author argues that the authoritative form of parenting: a method of parenting that involves effective disciplinary actions while still treating the child with the upmost respect, is a far superior method to the comparative: the authoritarian way of parenting, where parents dictate their solution while the child cannot argue. While both are effective in their own sense, there are situations where the parent must be both authoritative and authoritarian to be classified as a good parent.

A parent must be authoritarian depending on the severity of the situation because the authoritarian method, when employed appropriately, is more effective at enforcing

Contrary to the authoritarian method, the authoritative method should be the primary method of parenting to create an environment where the child is subject to love, care, and respect while also being able to effectively set boundaries. Samalin details the benefits of the authoritative form of parenting in her essay. She preaches that an effective form of parenting involves “set[ting] clear, firm limits” (10). She paints a picture of this statement with an example of a child going to a friend’s house to play. She continues to argue that the parent should communicate exactly what time they need to leave and in the situation that the child pleads to stay longer, instead of immaturely bickering with the child, the parent should calmly state that “six o’clock was our agreement. We need to go now” (10). This effectively follows through with the parent’s previous statements without unnecessary arguing while treating the child with respect. Additionally, Samalin further argues that parents should “use consequences instead of punishment” (11). She presents a situation where this statement can be used where the child has gotten their roller blades stolen after leaving them outside despite the parent’s reminders. The authoritative method of parenting can be used by providing an empathic response. This could look like encouraging the child to find a way to make money to buy a new pair. A response like this “teaches a lesson in responsibility without being punitive” (12). The authoritative method should be primarily used by the parent to discipline the child without being punitive or