An authoritarian parenting style tends to equate obedience with love, requiring strict adherence to structures and rules as a way of showing that love.

Often this type of parenting style is associated with more rigid forms of religious belief, where strict parenting regimes can be supported by scriptural references such as, "Spare the rod and spoil the child".

Authoritarian: Some meanings are strict,severe, controlling, rigid, dictatorial, totalitarian.

What are the Hallmarks of an
Authoritarian Parenting Style?

• The parent is highly demanding, but not responsive

• Attempts to control to an absolute standard.

• Values obedience and does not encourage give and take.

• Emphasises strict family rules and is often referred to as military style parenting

• Authoritarian parents attempt to exert complete and total control over their families.

• They can be restrictive and rigid, demanding absolute obedience, often in a 'do as I say not as I do' style of parenting. Punishment is often harsh and punitive, and can become abusive, both physically and emotionally.

• Authoritarian parents tend to be high in psychological control of their children which has a detrimental effect to the child's natural growth and maturation.

Authoritarian parents expect their children to accept their judgments, values, and opinions without questioning. In contrast to this, authoritative parents tend to operate from give and take with their children and make good use of explanations, drawing their children into open discussions.

Authoritarian Parenting Style - Defined:

Parenting style has been found to predict child well-being in the areas of social competence, academic performance, psychosocial development, and behaviour problems.

Parents of aggressive children tend to be authoritarian parents.

Often these children act out in overtly aggressive ways outside of their home environment, while remaining fearful within it.

The opposite is also true, with authoritarian parents creating shy, ineffectual, socially inept children, simply because of the amount of enforcement they are exposed to.

An authoritarian parenting style creates children who can't make their own decisions, moral assessments or value judgements. Both parental responsiveness and parental demandingness are important components of good parenting.

The psychologist, Diana Baumrind refers to the two important elements in parenting style: responsiveness and demandingness In Authoritarian Parenting, instead of producing respectful, non aggressive behaviour, the opposite instead is true, as the child models the behaviour shown to them by the parents

Authoritarian Parenting Style -
Development of the Child

Children raised with authoritarian style parents are often very good at obeying authority, but seldom have a strong sense of inner discipline.

These children tend to have poor self esteem, poor self discipline and unequal regard for other people. They tend to be poor judges of character, less able socially, and often rebel against authority figures when they are older.

Authoritarian parenting suppresses a child's intellectual growth and creativity. It encourages children to either rebel against their parents, or to become submissive toward life in general.

An authoritarian parentinging style is often linked with low self-esteem and an external locus of control, with the child finding the need for someone else to be in control of them.

I know that authoritarian parenting does not work. Having expectations and limits is a healthy part of parenting, especially when coupled with the consistent approach, but this also needs to be balanced by love, warmth and respect for the child.
I invite you to explore these ideas and find where you fit.

Which is your parenting style?
Does it fit for you and your children?
Can you see your own level of responsiveness and demandingness?


Are you an authoritarian parent?

Is this your style of parenting?

Authoritative Parenting Style
Uninvolved
Permissive
Over-Protective Parenting Styles.





From Authoritarian Parenting Style back to Parenting Styles

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