Psychologist, PSY.D.
here are many different ways to be an effective and nurturing parent. People’s parenting styles may vary based on culture, race, religion, socioeconomic status, geographic location as well as due to both the parents’ and the children’s personalities. Some people tend to be more authoritarian, setting rules and expecting them to be followed because you are the parent. Other parents are more permissive, wanting their children to have their needs met and to feel heard and understood. Still others try to find some middle ground. They may switch positions depending on the specifics of the situation or they may negotiate a compromise. Sometimes one parenting style works really effectively with one child but not at all with another. Other times, a way of handling a situation may work fine for your child at one age but not at all once they get a bit older, so a shift in approach is needed. We all tend to use our own upbringing as a model for how we parent, or in some cases, for what we most want to avoid in raising our children. Often, this strategy works fine. When it does not, therapy can be a useful tool in offering you alternative strategies and techniques that might help.