Most parents only want the best for their children. However, there are instances when parents can be highly demanding and less responsive to their children’s needs, interests and desires. Parenting is seen as a typology, in which specific practices are held insignificant compared with the general practices on how parents deal with their children.
Experts describe authoritarian parenting as a style that is based on obedience without questioning. In families adopting authoritarian parenting, parents most often enforce stringent rules, where punishment is confused for discipline. Authoritarian parenting holds high regard for achievement, leaving children with no room to make mistakes. Often, this style of parenting is devoid of love and affection that are, in fact, very crucial in the psychological and emotional development of young children.
Parents might not recognize it, but authoritarian parenting can lead to future problems when it comes to the relationship of children and parents. Children of authoritarian parents are prone to committing rebellious acts, as their way of asserting their individuality and finding their niche in the society.
Another downside to this style of parenting is that children have the tendency to open their problems to other people due to fear of their parents, which is not a healthy parent-child relationship. Out of the parents’ desire for achievement and ensuring that their children turn out to be successful adults, they fail on the opportunity to provide guidance when the children most need it. Instead, they enforce black and white rules that often neglect the children’s chance to grow and learn from mistakes. In turn, this leads to confusion that significantly damages a child’s self-esteem as well as social competence.
Children from authoritarian families can perform moderately in school, which is a stark contrast to how their parents aim for them, although they may have no involvement in problematic behavior in societies. Yet, children from these families have a higher degree of depression, partly because they cannot express their own thoughts and interests to their parents, consequently stifling their intellectual growth.
Discipline in authoritarian parenting tends to be harsh, and does not quantify for the wrongdoing. Eventually, parents are baffled as to what method of discipline to impose when spanking no longer works. In some families, spanking can lead to abuse which correlates to the low self-esteem and poor social skills of children.
Many experts have discouraged parents to use authoritarian parenting style due to its proven detrimental effects on a child’s well-being. Instead, psychologists advocate a more democratic parenting style that fosters parent-child relationship but ensures that children grow to be responsible and loving individuals.
