Parents have an enormous effect on children, this much is clear and obvious. What is less clear is how different parenting styles impact kids but a new study has shown that when it comes to authoritative versus authoritarian dads the difference is more than a few letters.
In the new study researchers followed more than 300 families over a period of years. The study focussed on children aged between eleven and fourteen who were living in a two-parent household. One of the most significant findings of the research is that there is a big difference between fathers who are authoritarian and those who are authoritative.
The difference between these two styles is more than linguistic; it is very real in terms of the outcomes for the children involved. An “authoritative†dad establishes himself as a person the child should respect but he also responds to the child’s needs and contributes to maintaining a home that is nurturing and in which the child feels comfortable to make mistakes and question rules. By contrast, an “authoritarian†dad makes themselves a figure of authority and respect but does respond to the child’s needs, rigidly enforcing rules and punishing the child.
Clearly the differences between the two styles are significant and the outcomes are equally disparate. The study found that authoritative fathers influenced their children to become more persistent and this led to improved outcomes in school and lower levels of delinquency.
The authors of the study believe that authoritative fathers have this effect because their approach allows children to feel their father’s warmth and love. Additionally, an authoritative style involves accountability and reasons behind rules with the children being granted an appropriate level of autonomy.
No doubt similar rules will apply to mothers although there are some inherent differences in the roles of the mother and father and these results did apply particularly to dads. In the end it is as the song says; teach your children well, feed them on your dreams, know they love you and let them know that you love them.
