I got all of the following information from page 388-389 from our textbook under the heading Parenting: What's right and what's wrong. As I read this I couldn't help but notice how black and white they looked at the parenting styles. First off they only list 3 parenting styles; permissive, authoritarian and authoritative. I am not saying that these 3 don't exist, I am just saying there probably are few parents that stick to these guidelines 100%. I think most parents will have a combination of permissiveness and an authoritarian hold on their children. So does that mean that all parents are authoritative? I think if you don't give a child a good amount of freedom that will hinder their abilities because all you are doing is sheltering them and setting them up for a harder future. But at the same time if you don't show authority over your children they may have a lack of respect towards others and may develop a "me first" set of morals.
The problem with this is I don't think there is a right way in terms of guidelines on how to raise a child. Even parents who seem to do everything perfect in terms of parenting may have their child become "corrupt" by what the child has experienced from their peers. Parents have a big influence on a childs life but so do the kids that the kid is hanging out with.
