Parenting Types : Authoritarian, Democratic and Permissive

Parenting Types : Authoritarian, Democratic and Permissive 

Kinds of parenting according to Hurlock and Hardy & Heyes are: (1) authoritarian parenting, (2) democratic parenting, and (3) permissive parenting.

1. Authoritarian Parenting

The characteristics of authoritarian parenting are:

The dominant parent power, a child is not recognized as a person, control of the child's behavior is very strict, and the parents punish the child if he does not obey.

Authoritarian parenting tends to restrict the affection, touch, and emotional proximity of parents - child so the parents and children seem to have a dividing wall that separates "the authoritarian" (parents) and "the obedient" (child). A study conducted by Fagan (in Badingah, 1993) shows that there is relationship between family factor and family delinquency levels, in which a broken home family, the lack of togetherness and interaction among family members, and authoritarian parents tend to produce a troubled teen. Ultimately, this will affect the quality of the child's character.

2. Democratic Parenting

The characteristics of democratic parenting are:

There is cooperation between parents and children, Children are recognized as persons. There are guidance and direction from parents. There is control of parents that is not stiff.

Democratic parenting seems to be more conducive to the character education of children. It can be seen from the result of research conducted by Baumrind showing that democratic parents are more supportive of children’s development, especially in self-reliance and responsibility.

3. Permissive Parenting

The characteristics of permissive parenting are:

Domination in children, looseness or freedom from parents, there is no guidance and direction from parents, parental controls and attention is very less.

Permissive parenting that tends to give freedom to the child to do anything is not very conducive to the character formation. However, children still need guidance from parents to know what is good or wrong. Excessive freedom, even seemed permitting, will make the child confused and potentially misleading.

In conclusion, authoritarian parent is adverse, because child is not independent, less responsibility and aggressive, whereas permissive parents cause children less able to adapt in the outside. According to Arkoff (in Badingah, 1993), children who are educated in democratic way generally tend to express the aggressiveness in constructive actions or in the form of temporary hatred. On the other hand, children who are educated authoritatively or rejected have a tendency to express the aggressiveness in the form of harmful acts. Meanwhile, children who are educated permissively tend to develop aggressive behavior openly or overtly.

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