Parenting

The Influence of Parenting Style on Child Development

and the Influence of Child Temperament on Parenting Style

Shannon Clayton

Columbia College

As humans we grow and mature as we are raised by our parents or caregivers, we reproduce, and we begin to raise our own children as they grow and mature. But how many parents ever actually stop to consider “what type of parent am I”? This is an important question because the type of parent we are plays a large role in the type of person our children will become. Our parenting style affects our children, and subsequently our children often affect our parenting style. Understanding this relationship can be helpful in directing the parent to the optimum parenting style to help their child grow and mature under the best possible circumstances.

Parenting styles can first be broken down into two vague categories, warm versus cold and restrictive versus permissive. Warm parents are affectionate toward their children, showing caring and support while communicating enjoyment in being with the child. (Rathus, 2011). Warm parenting incorporates non-physical methods of affection such as attention, smiling, and laughing as well as physical methods of affection such as hugging, snuggling, and kissing. Warm parents are less likely than cold parents to use physical discipline (Rathus, 2011). Conversely cold parents may not enjoy being with their children and may have few feelings of affection toward their children, often complaining about their children's behavior (Rathus, 2011). Cold parents are often associated with neglectful home environments. The children of parents who are warm and accepting are more likely to develop internalized standards of conduct, a moral sense or conscience (Rathus, 2011). Research shows that families rich in warm physical affection have fewer problems with anger and aggression, yet in many families there is a drop in physical affection after babyhood followed by another drop in affection...