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Marriage and Family Life: The ParentingYears

problem-solving skills.Authoritarian
parents are high on control and low on
nurture.Children from these homes
perform well in school and do not
typically exhibit behavior problems;
however,they score lower in social skills
and self-esteem,are more likely to be
depressed,and ultimately develop
dysfunctional relationships.Uninvolved
parents are low in both nurture and
control.Children in this type of family
perform the poorest in school,are the
least socially competent,and often grow
up feeling unloved and unwanted.
The way we have been parented has
much to do with the parenting style we
will adopt.Personality,socioeconomic
status,cultural heritage,and cognitive
abilities also play a role in our parenting
style.The characteristics of the child can
affect how the parents relate to the child.
The importance of this becomes
apparent when examining the incidence
of child abuse,which affects as high as

16.5 out of every 1000 children.

The 10 principles of effective parenting

are to:

• be consistent


• hold fast to consequences


• allow choices


• define expectations


• fit the discipline to the offense


• parent without using threats


• remain calm


• be flexible with small children


• establish curfews for older children


• know your children’s friends and
  their parents.

TheChristianperspectivelookstothe

attributesof Godasamodelforgood

parenting.Godislife-giving,personal,

loving,faithful,forgiving,andpatient.

Thesesixattributesaremostconsistent

withtheauthoritativeparentingstyle,

whichwasshowntoresultinthebestchild

outcomesof thefourparentingstyles.