1. Parenting “The toughest job you’ll ever love.”

2. Purposes • Across cultures, there are three elements of rearing children: • Protection • Preparation/teaching the young to be able to function as adults • Instill the larger culture into the next generation

3. Parenting Styles Through her studies in the 1960s, Diana Baumrind identified four components that are important in parenting: • Strategies for discipline • Warmth and nurturance 3. Communication 4. Expectations of maturity and control

4. Parenting Styles • From her research, Baumrind determined that three different styles of parenting (Baumrind, 1967). Through further research, a fourth one was added (Maccoby and Martin, 1983).

5. Parenting Styles • Authoritarian (aka dictatorial) • Parents have lots of rules, with punishments for failure to follow • High demands and expectations from the children • Children powerless • “Because I said so” • Children in this situation tend to be obedient and proficient, but lack self-esteem and social competence

6. 2. Authoritative (aka Democratic) • Establish rules, but offer explanations for them • Children can attempt to discuss rules/expectations, but parents retain final control • Set clear standards • Seek to correct behavior versus punishing it • Children tend to be happier, capable, and successful (Maccoby, 1982)

7. 3. Permissive • Lack of rules and/or discipline • Low expectations • Parents want to be “friends” rather than authority figures • Children tend to be low performers and unhappy. Also have issues with authority

8. 4. Uninvolved • While the basic needs are usually met, parents are generally detached from their children’s lives • Neglect • Surrogate (e.g. nannies, boarding schools, television) • Children tend to lack discipline, competence, and esteem

9. Criticisms of Baumrind • Data supporting Baumrind based correlational support, not experimental causation. • Baumrind’s theory not supported by cross-cultural results (Bernstein, 2011). • Research does exist to support cross-cultural superiority of authoritarian parenting (Querido et al, 2002).