Parenting Styles

Parenting style is a global and dynamic psychological construct, referring to the overall emotional tone or affect between parent and child. It reflects the emotional climate in which parents raise their children and the various ways in which parents interact with their children in the course of educating and socializing their offspring in a particular cultural setting. Parenting style is part of the socialization process in which a child, through education, training, observation, and experience, acquires skills, motives, attitudes, and behaviors that are required for successful adaptation to family and cultural settings. Adult caretakers, through their child-rearing styles and practices, play a determining role in the way their children develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally. After discussing the history of parental styles, this entry describes specific ...