Parenting Styles: Why They Matter and How Therapy Can Help
As parents, we all want to raise healthy, resilient children. Yet the way we approach parenting—how we respond to challenges, set boundaries, and express love—can shape our child’s development in profound ways. Understanding your parenting style is an important step in becoming the parent you want to be.
In therapy, I often work with parents who are trying to make sense of their own upbringing while navigating the real-life demands of raising children. Having language for different parenting styles can offer clarity, self-compassion, and a path forward.
Let’s take a look at the four primary parenting styles and how they may be showing up in your family life.
Authoritative Parenting: Warm, Firm, and Supportive
This is often considered the most balanced and effective style.
Characteristics:
High expectations with warmth and support
Consistent boundaries and open communication
Encourages independence and emotional expression
How it Helps Children Thrive:
Children raised in authoritative homes tend to feel secure, confident, and capable of navigating relationships and challenges.
Authoritarian Parenting: Strict with Limited Flexibility
This style values obedience and structure, but often lacks emotional responsiveness.
Characteristics:
High expectations and strict rules
Low tolerance for negotiation or pushback
Discipline often outweighs dialogue
Possible Impacts:
Children may follow rules but struggle with self-esteem or emotional expression. They may also fear mistakes rather than learn from them.
Permissive Parenting: Loving but Light on Boundaries
Parents using this style are often nurturing, but may avoid setting limits.
Characteristics:
Warm and accepting
Few rules or consequences
Prioritizes child’s happiness and autonomy
Possible Impacts:
Children may feel deeply loved, but may also have difficulty with boundaries, frustration tolerance, and accountability.
Uninvolved Parenting: Disconnected or Overwhelmed
This style often emerges unintentionally—especially when parents are facing mental health struggles, chronic stress, or trauma.
Characteristics:
Low responsiveness and minimal guidance
Emotionally or physically unavailable
Little structure or supervision
Possible Impacts:
Children may feel emotionally unsafe or invisible, and often experience difficulty with trust, self-regulation, and attachment.
Therapy Can Offer a Space to Reflect and Reconnect
No parent fits neatly into one category all the time. We bring our own experiences, stressors, and patterns into how we show up with our kids. Therapy offers a supportive, nonjudgmental space to:
Explore your own parenting style and family history
Learn evidence-based strategies for connection and discipline
Build emotional regulation skills—for you and your child
Understand your child’s behavior through a developmental and relational lens
Repair and rebuild after difficult parenting moments
Whether you're navigating daily power struggles, parenting after trauma, or simply wanting to parent with more intention, therapy can help you slow down, get curious, and make lasting shifts.
You don’t have to parent alone.
If you’re looking for a space to reflect on your parenting style and feel more grounded in your role, I’d be honored to work with you.
Contact me today to schedule a consultation and take the next step toward more confident, connected parenting.
