Democratic Parenting Style

Democratic parenting style

Education is determined from the first years of life. It is a very important and complicated responsibility that from the beginning must assume the family. In fact, it has been shown that the behavior used to educate a child affects its integral development. Our parenting style is based on the way we communicate and relate to the child. So you have to adopt a democratic parenting style."It is easier to build strong children than repairing broken adults" – Frederick Douglass – with this phrase we can understand the importance of raising a child correctly. If we care about giving quality education in childhood, we can avoid the appearance of emotional, psychological and social problems when these children become older.

What are the parenting styles?

There are several theories about parenting styles. One of the first and most elaborate is the one made by psychologist Diana Baumrind in 1967. This author took into account only the level of paternal control to define three styles: authoritarian, permissive and authoritative.Years later, in 1983, Maccoby and Martin reformulate this theory and propose that different types of parenting are the consequence of the interaction between two dimensions:

• Affection and communication: refers to affection, approval, acceptance and help given to children.
• Control and discipline: It consists of establishing a series of norms and responsible for supervising the behavior of children.

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  From these two characteristics, four parenting styles are established: Authoritarian: they demand a high level of control and discipline, but little affection and poor communication.

• Permissive: They provide a lot of affection and communication, but little control and discipline.Democratic: They provide a high level of affection and communication, as well as control and discipline.
• Negligent: They do not transmit affection, nor are they establishing good communication and do not apply any type of control or discipline.

Characteristics of democratic parenting

Democratic parenting is characterized by the use of two very valuable tools: dialogue and reflection. It is, not only to teach, but to explain and understand the norms, rights and values through reason, avoiding authoritarian impositions.These mothers and these parents stimulate the critical thinking of their children and encourage their autonomy. In addition, they take their needs into account and adapt to them, giving them the support and love they require. But it is not about being benevolent, if not to establish a series of limits and know how to negotiate against conflicts. That is, instead of getting carried away by power and continuously resorting to punishments, we must try to reach an agreement between parents and children through communication and listening.In this type of parenting the child is the protagonist of his own education, being guided during all stages of his life until he achieves good development in all the senses.

Consequences of democratic parenting style

 The fact of adopting a democratic parenting style causes children to grow with a specific personality.This parenting style provides many positive consequences in the development of children. Some of them are explained below:

• High self – esteem: they have a good perception of themselves and show confidence and security.Social skills: they develop correctly in different contexts and social situations.
• self-control: they are able to regulate and manage their emotions and behaviors, without being impulsive when acting.
• Autonomy: they have the ability to make their own decisions, perform their actions and assume their responsibilities without depending on others.

Therefore, if you want your child to grow happy and become a free person, independent and consistent with his actions, you must educate him democratically. Obviously, it is not easy to find the balance between affection and discipline. But I assure you that the effort will have its reward. In addition, no one said that children’s education was an easy task!