Educational styles: authoritarian - permissive - authoritative

The educational methods have softened in contrast to earlier. Fifty years ago, when authoritarian education predominated, there are many methods today, ranging from hard to delicate. How effective is which method and which principles apply?

How parents educate their children depends largely on their own education. However, this does not necessarily mean that parents who have been strictly educated repeat this with their children. Sometimes the exact opposite happens: severely educated parents allow their children excessive indulgence, as they have their own authoritarian education in unpleasant memory. One is as counterproductive to child development as the other. However, in reality, pure forms are rarely found. Most children are educated in a mixed system. If the contrasts are too big, it can confuse a child.

The authoritarian education

This style of parenting is based on a great control of the parents by the children; Childish needs are little or not addressed. The established rules are very strict and must be complied with without contradiction, otherwise the child will face penalties and sanctions. This style of education is usually not characterized by loving behavior. The main tools of authoritarian education are reward and punishment, less the effort for understanding and understanding.

Example: You are doing your homework now, TV is canceled for a week!

Authoritarian children usually show little self-confidence, are unable to make decisions, and social skills are weak. This has been proven in many studies.

The permissive style of education

This method of education is the exact opposite of authoritarian education. There are hardly any limits and rules; the parents show an excessively high tolerance towards the child. This method is similar to the "laissez-faire" style, but there are at least a few limitations here. The parents, however, exercise little control over the child, punishment or sanctions are hardly ever. The child is granted the maximum freedom.

Example: Go watch TV, you can do your homework later sometime.

Children who are educated permissively, usually also have a low social skills. In search of a border on which they can orient themselves, they beat more and more about the strands and become partially aggressive. Most of the permissive style of education goes hand in hand with a neglect of the children. As a result, permissively educated children often have difficulty bonding later on. Also, the sense of responsibility is usually poorly developed, because these children never had to take responsibility for something.

The authoritative style of education

Authoritative education, which is also known as socially integrative education, is the golden mean of the educational styles. Parents exercise great control over the child and their behavior, but also take into account and consider the child's needs Possibility fulfilled. There are clear rules that must be respected, but the disregard of the rules does not entail draconian punishments. Rather, it is first appealed to the understanding of the child, if necessary, rules are also changed or adapted once. If a child permanently breaks the rules, sanctions follow, but these are directly related to the transfer of the rule:

Example: As long as you have not done your homework, you can not watch TV.

However, the interplay between the needs of the child and the will of the parents is always in the foreground. This style of parenting costs parents a lot of energy, because they have to pay attention to the observance of the limits set by them, but at the same time they have to ensure a violent and non-violent adherence to the limits.

Children who are consistently educated authoritatively, show a high degree of social skills, willingness to compromise and a constructive behavior in problem solving. Through the borders they feel safe, loved by the understanding behavior of their parents.

In addition to these three main directions, there are different variants of the individual parenting styles. But only the authoritative parenting style takes into account the needs of parents and children alike.