Parents are deeply shaped by the experiences they grew up in and were surrounded by–which can often be overlooked (or even forgotten) as they strive to create a healthy home environment for their children and teenagers. Our newest offering, Nurturing Mental Health for Gen Z: A Handbook for Parents, offers a space for parents to explore how their childhoods may be impacting how they parent.  

Whether a person had two parents, one parent, adoptive parents, or were raised by other adults, how they were parented affects identity formation, self-perception, and interactions with others. Perhaps more important, a person’s interactions with those who raised them color the relationship they have with their children. In fact, researchers have shown that the parenting styles and approaches to discipline parents use can at least be partially predicted from those their own parents used.

Researchers Terrence Sanvictores and Magda Mendez detailed these descriptions of four common parenting styles:

Authoritarian Parenting 

Parents of this style tend to have a one-way mode of communication where the parent establishes strict rules that the child obeys. There is little to no room for negotiations from the child, and the rules are not usually explained. They expect their children to uphold these standards while making no errors. Mistakes usually lead to punishment. Authoritarian parents are normally less nurturing and have high expectations with limited flexibility.    

Authoritative Parenting 

This type of parent normally develops a close, nurturing relationship with their children. They have clear guidelines for their expectations and explain their reasons associated with disciplinary actions. Disciplinary methods are used as a way of support instead of punishment. Not only can children have input into goals and expectations, but there are also frequent and appropriate levels of communication between the parent and their child. In general, this parenting style leads to the healthiest outcomes for children but requires a lot of patience and effort on both parties.  

Permissive Parenting 

Permissive parents tend to be warm, nurturing and usually have minimal or no expectations. They impose limited rules on their children. Communication remains open, but parents allow their children to figure things out for themselves. These low levels of expectation usually result in rare uses of discipline. They act more like friends than parents. 

Uninvolved Parenting 

Children are given a lot of freedom as this type of parent normally stays out of the way. They fulfill the child’s basic needs while generally remaining detached from their child’s life. An uninvolved parent does not utilize a particular disciplining style and has a limited amount of communication with their child. They tend to offer a low amount of nurturing while having either few or no expectations of their children. 

Parents can use prompts like these below from our handbook to examine their own childhoods.