the process of raising children and providing them

with protection and care in order to ensure their

healthy development into adulthood.

There are 2 types of parenting:

Authoritative

authoritarian

Authoritative Vs Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritative and authoritarian sound pretty similar. According to  psychology both
imply authority. However, although their names are similar, they have completely
different principles and effects on children.

Here is the difference between authoritative and authoritarian parenting in

characteristics.

PARENTAL WARMTH

Compared to authoritarian parents, authoritative parents are likely to be warm,

nurturing, and responsive.
Children with secure attachment are happier and healthier. Many studies confirm
that compared with the children of authoritarian parents, the children of authoritative
parents are indeed more content1.
Because authoritative parents are responsive to their children’s emotional needs,
kids from authoritative families have good emotional control. They
develop resilience and can recuperate quickly from setbacks.

Compared to authoritative parents, authoritarian parents are the exact opposite in

terms of warmth and responsiveness. Authoritarian parents are cold and non-
responsive. They view children’s sensitive emotions as a weakness and suppress
them.

FREEDOM

Authoritative parents allow their kids to seek autonomy and independence. Instead

of tight control, they closely monitor their children’s behavior and correct them as
needed.

Studies show that parental monitoring substantially reduces a child’s risk of

antisocial behavior, delinquency, and drug abuse2. Parental monitoring is most likely
to be effective and healthy when it is in a warm and supportive relationship.

Authoritative parents also involve their children in making decisions for the family.
Bidirectional communication is encouraged.

On the other hand, authoritarian parents discourage independence-seeking. They do

not involve children in decision-making. Kids are given orders instead of requests
from their parents.

RULES

Both authoritative and authoritarian parents are strict and have high expectations of
their kids.

Authoritative parents are strict and warm, while authoritarian parents are strict and
cold.

Authoritative parents discuss and explain rules to their children. They are open to
give-and-take discussions and will modify rules if appropriate.
Children are taught to think critically about the reasons behind each rule. Because
kids with authoritative parents can speak their minds and participate in decision-
making, they are more assertive and have higher self-esteem.

Authoritarian parents only allow one-way communication. They use “because I said

so” as the reason for the rules.

Children are expected to blindly obey without questions. They are not allowed to
have or voice their opinions. Kids are often “seen but not heard”. Children whose
parents have an authoritarian parenting style can be insecure and apprehensive.

CONTROL

Both authoritative and authoritarian parents hold very high standards and control
over the kids’ behavior.

However, authoritarian parents also impose tight psychological control over their
kids. They believe that they are the authorities who are always right. Their kids need
to accept their judgment and values at all times.

Authoritarian parents seem to worry about under-controlling their children. Therefore,

they want to do the opposite but use the other extreme, i.e. become controlling
parents to over-control their children.

Authoritarian parents rely on a child’s sense of fear toward the parents to exert
psychological control.

Children whose parents use psychological control as a means of discipline are more
likely to be submissive, apprehensive, and dependent. Some children fight to be free
from such control resulting in externalizing behavior problems3.

DISCIPLINE

Authoritative parents tend to use non-punitive measures such as time-in and natural
consequence to discipline.

Authoritarian parents favor punitive punishment.

 Interestingly enough, although authoritative parents allow children to have more
freedom and autonomy, their standards are usually higher than the authoritarian
parents’. They also follow through on the consequence more consistently.

Effects On Kids
Authoritative parenting results in better outcomes in children overall. The only
exception is that some inconsistencies in school performance are found in other
ethnic groups, such as African Americans and Asian Americans.

Having high standards and enforcing limits consistently may be the reasons why kids
with authoritative parents achieve higher academic results4.
Another factor for high academic performance is high parental involvement in
authoritative parenting. Authoritative parents tend to monitor children’s homework
and volunteer in their schools. Research has found that involvement by parents is
directly linked to better school performance5.

But authoritarian parents also have high standards and enforce limits. Some are also
very involved in the child’s schooling (e.g. Tiger mom parenting). This could
potentially explain why in some cultures, such as the Chinese, authoritarian
parenting is associated with better grades.

However, authoritarian parents hold tight psychological control and favor punitive

punishment for discipline. Despite the academic success, kids with authoritarian
parents are more depressed and have more mental issues1.

ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT UR KIDS BECAUSE CHILDREN ARE APT TO LIVE

UP TO WHAT U BELIVE OF THEM.