What are some of the types of parenting?

Have you heard of all the different kinds of parenting? I didn’t know how many there were until writing this blog (around 10!), and how different they can all be! Parenting styles are crucial for a child's development and the parent child relationship. This blog is going to look into three different styles, Authoritative, Permissive and Gentle. 

Authoritative Parenting

In authoritative parenting, the parents are nurturing, responsive, and supportive, yet set firm limits for their children. They attempt to control children's behaviour by explaining rules, discussing, and reasoning. Challenges include the time and patience required for consistency. Practical tips include setting clear expectations, using positive reinforcement, and maintaining open communication.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parenting is an approach characterised by few demands or rules, where parents are nurturing and communicative but provide little discipline. This style fosters a close, open relationship between parent and child, encouraging creativity and freedom. However, potential issues include poor self-discipline, behavioural problems, and difficulties with authority and boundaries. To balance permissiveness, it's crucial to establish necessary boundaries and expectations while maintaining open communication and providing guidance when needed. This approach helps ensure a healthy development for the child by offering structure alongside emotional support and independence.

Gentle Parenting

Gentle parenting is a parenting approach that encourages strong emotional connections and guiding behaviour through positive discipline rather than punishments. Its main principles include empathy, respect and understanding. For example, imagine a toddler throwing a tantrum at the shops because they want some sweets. Using the gentle parenting approach, the parent would kneel down to the child’s level, acknowledge their feelings, and calmly explain the situation. For instance, the parent might say, "I see you're really upset because you want the sweets. It's hard when we can't have what we want, but we're not buying them today. How about we choose a healthy snack together instead?" This response validates the child’s emotions, sets a clear limit, and offers a positive alternative, all while maintaining a calm and respectful tone. 

Parenting is about balance, no two day’s are the same! Don’t know about you but we certainly fit into more than one style and let's face it we are all out here just doing our best! We all know our toddlers or babies can go from crying to do the sweetest thing, that first giggle or attempt at I love you or saying mama and dada are certainly memories to cherish when they are being wild toddlers, showing love and empathy when the tantrums set in can help but its not easy, however we also sometime feel like throwing a tantrum after a long day not sure about you?!