Parents have a profound impact on their children. From the moment you conceive your baby to how you raise them, you influence your child’s development. This is why you need to learn what it takes to be an effective and promising guardian. Children require hard work. You need to constantly shower them with attention, ensure their needs are met and ensure you’re not neglecting them in any way.
The type of parenting style you adopt will influence your child’s well-being. If you’re too harsh, you may have children who are far too frightened of you, but if you’re lenient, they may become too spoiled. So, where do you see the line? Here’s what you need to know:
1. What Factors Impact Your Child?
Numerous factors play a role in your child’s development. As a mother, the diet you eat, the exercise regime you follow, and the healthy habits you adopt are all necessary for fetal development. At the same time, as you get closer to giving birth, you must be aware of the different environmental factors that can influence your child. There are a variety of prenatal and postnatal care practices that can help ensure your child’s health and development. From breastfeeding to vaccinations, these medical interventions have proven to improve outcomes for children. However, you must be cautious about the facility where you take your child for medical treatment and the people to who you entrust your child’s care. Birth injuries occur due to the negligence of the medical staff or the mother, but in some cases, it is also due to underlying health conditions. If your newborn is diagnosed with cerebral palsy or has suffered a birth injury, do not hesitate to contact a medical malpractice attorney to get started on your child’s case. You need to be aware of different types of birth injuries while caring for your newborn. However, there are more factors than you may realize that can impact your child’s development. Get to know some of the most important ones ahead.
2. What Are The Different Parenting Styles?
As a parent, how you interact with your child, including disciplining them, plays a role in their growth. You need to find a method to establish healthy boundaries, address their needs, and account for your child’s personality. Certain kids are more energetic than others; they need firm guidelines and a strict routine to stay on track. In contrast, other kids need a more lenient and gentle touch to respond positively. Therefore, as a parent, you may be leaning on various styles to raise your child adequately. These are as follows:
3. The Authoritarian Parent
Authoritarian parents are all about following the rules to the T. If you believe your child should follow all the rules without exception. You will be considered a strict parent. As a result, you’ll design the framework according to which you believe you should raise your child. This includes not negotiating with them, not giving them the space to discuss their problems, and expecting your child to be obedient at all times. If you’ve heard the terms tiger parent or helicopter parenting, know they’re authoritarian parents.
For example, if your child is a baby, you may set a rule that they may not get more than one hug a day, and no matter how much your child clings to your affection, you will not yield. In another instance, during dinner time, you may not let your child leave the table until they finish everything off their plate, despite their protest, and subject them to harsh punishment. Children who grow up with authoritarian parents may develop self-esteem issues. You may end up causing your child severe anxiety problems, making them anxious and highly aggressive. In some cases, they may also turn into excellent liars and try to manipulate you to avoid punishment.
4. The Authoritative Parent
Unlike an authoritarian parent, an authoritative parent is all about establishing rules but will consider their child’s opinions. This includes reinforcing positive behavior and strategies to help you look after your child without belittling them. For example, even though you want your child to complete their homework, you’ll still let them take breaks, rest in between and have the space to breathe as long as they meet deadlines. As an authoritative parent, you’ll never deprive your child of love or affection and use them as tools to enforce good behavior.
Children with authoritative figures mostly turn out to be well-centered adults. Your child may be good at evaluating risks, making the right decisions, and tend to know what to do. However, they may have a slight people-pleasing streak, which can make them massive pushovers.
5. Permissive Parenting
As a permissive parent, you believe the best way to look after your child is through leniency and gentleness. The parenting style encourages you to be more of a friend to your children and less of an authority figure. As a result, you may be more open with them in discussing their problems, giving your children the room to address their mistakes and allow self-expression. Children with permissive parents may be excellent at communicating their needs and describing what they feel. But they need more boundaries to draw a line where required. Your child may also feel entitled to love and affection, which can pose a problem.
6. The Uninvolved Parent
The uninvolved parent is also known as the negligent parent. This is the most harmful parenting style since it severely deprives your child of the love and guidance they need. There are many reasons why a parent may become uninvolved. If you have a severe case of postpartum depression, maybe a single parent and the only breadwinner in the house, or have a horrible domestic life, you can end up ignoring your child. This can lead to your children growing up with little understanding of consequences, exhibiting frequent behavioral problems, and being emotionally, mentally, and physically unhealthy.
Children hailing from the last category may have trouble adjusting to society, have immensely stunted growth and find it challenging to communicate their needs effectively. In extreme cases, government organizations like the CPS intervene to remove the child from this detrimental environment.
7. What Is The Best Parenting Style To Adopt?
As a parent, your goal should be to raise a healthy and self-aware child, which you can achieve by allowing yourself to learn. Parenting is not a linear process and requires immense trial and error. It would be best if you tried out different techniques until you find the one that yields effective results. Don’t stick to one style; instead, experiment with various methods that allow you to look after your infant to the best of your abilities. Details are as follows:
- Always Establish Boundaries. Enforcing boundaries is about letting your child know what’s good for them and what’s not. This doesn’t mean that your infant is not allowed to ask questions to make mistakes but to know their limitations. Drawing these lines gives your child a healthy framework to exhibit their behavior without invading another person’s personal space or allowing another individual to trample over your child and disrespect their personhood.
- Listen To Your Child. Whether your child is repeating the same joke, asking questions that make no sense, or wants to converse with you all the time, listen to them. Your child is learning to communicate and will look for opportunities to express themselves. By engaging them in a conversation, having a dialogue with them, and talking to them, you teach them to be more articulate, find healthy ways to convey their needs, and become coherent in choosing the right words.
- Be Attentive About Their Needs. A growing child has many needs. They’ll need you to socialize with them, require more outlets to vent out their frustration, and need constant vigilance at all times. This is normal, and you must always be attentive to your child. Look at their eating habits, and ensure they’re having healthy snacks and are getting nutritious meals every day.
Make sure your child sleeps comfortably through the night, and if they show signs of lethargy, sadness, and fatigue, don’t hesitate to take them to the doctor. It would help if you focused on your child from the minute they’re born until they’re old enough to look after themselves. While this can be stressful, your care and affection are vital in raising a well-nourished and developed child.
Final Thoughts
A child’s formative years are the most crucial milestones in their life. How you raise your child during infancy plays a heavy role in their development. As a parent, you should always strive for a parenting style that allows you to raise a well-adjusted and stable child that can function in society. Understanding these parenting styles can give you a glimpse into the kind of figurehead you are. However, make sure you give yourself the capacity to learn and explore.
