Credit: Google Images
Contents
Advantages
of Authoritarian Parenting
Dis-advantages
of Authoritarian Parenting
How
to make yourself less authoritarian
Children are born without manuals, so it is the responsibility of parents to teach them the survival tips. Parents always do their best to make children happy and successful. However, sometimes parenting style may not coincide with needs of children as many parents want their children to do what they want. Parenting style may differ from person to person and each parenting style has its own specific attributes, advantages and disadvantages of authoritarian parenting are described here.
Authoritarian Parenting
It is a very strict parenting
style in which parents show little affection toward their children and
primarily focus on obedience and discipline.
Advantages of Authoritarian Parenting
Goal oriented
As their parents always ask them
to focus on achievements so they develop the habit of setting and achieving the
goals. They concentrate on making their parents happy.
Responsible
These children are held accountable
for their actions from very beginning so they tend to be responsible adults.
Well-behaved
Children raised with
authoritarian parents are generally well behaved because they are well aware of
the consequences of misbehaving in front of others.
Try to do things right
Authoritarian parents hardly
become happy and appreciate their children and give punishments when they do
something wrong so, the children always try their best to do their job in
perfect manner (1).
Credit: Google Images
Dis-advantages of Authoritarian Parenting
Stress and anxiety
Children of authoritarian parents
remain stressed and anxious as they are unable to meet their parent’s demands. These
kids are sometimes hyperactive and aggressive (2).
Depression
It is studied that children of authoritarian
parents are more prone to develop depression as compared to other parenting
styles (3).
Low self esteem
These children are usually not
appreciated for their good deeds and always criticized for the bad ones so,
they feel incompetent. They develop low self-esteem because they think they are
incapable of making their parents happy and proud so, other kids are better and
superior. These kids are always directed by someone else therefore, it is hard
for them to take important decisions of their life (3).
Emotional disturbance
Children of authoritarian parents
face difficulties in managing their emotions as their feelings and emotions are
always ignored. They spend a submissive life so, when they take charge they go
against their parents and also develop the authoritarian personality (2).
Behavioral changes
A meta-analysis of over 1400
studies revealed that psychological control and strict discipline caused worse
behavioral outcomes in children (4).
Sometimes, parents are not
authoritarian and negative behavior of kids provoke them to use authoritarian
strategies to control the kids that make the situation worst.
Social problems
A study conducted in Spain showed
that adolescent and adults raised by authoritarian parents were less empathetic
(5).
Similarly, a study from
Netherlands concluded that the kids from authoritarian parents were not very
helpful toward their peers (6).
Academic achievements
Authoritarian parents do not encourage
critical thinking and problem solving so, these children usually perform bad in
science exams (7).
Discrepancies
Some of the studies failed to
develop the relationship between authoritarian parenting and depression.
Correspondingly, scientist were unable to find significant difference in the
emotional response of the kids raised by authoritative, permissive and
authoritarian parents.
The difference may exist due to
cultural norms and level of strictness. If authoritarian behaviors is prevalent
in a culture then children will perceive it as normal and will not be affected
much. In addition, degree of harshness
varies from parent to parent so children are affected in different manner (8).
How to make yourself less authoritarian
If you are raised by
authoritarian parents then it is really hard for you to change your parenting
style. Although, there is no specific rule regarding parenting however, if you
follow authoritarian parenting, then;
Try to connect with your children.
Listen to their needs.
Understand and validate their
feelings and emotions.
Spend time with your children and try to understand the reason behind their
behavior.
If you have set certain rules for children then explain the benefits and reasons
of these rules.
Take home message
Due to all these properties,
authoritarian parenting is not usually recommended by psychologists. However,
this style is allowed when safety and security of your child is concerned.
References
2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6323136/
3.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26939843/
4.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28459276/
5.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32244451/
6.https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-01055-001
7.https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-14609-001
8.https://parentingscience.com/authoritarian-parenting/
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