Authoritative Parenting: Guiding With Warmth and Firmness

Parenting is rarely taught, so it must be learned quickly on the job.
The parenting styles we adopt may not always be the most effective, but most of us are doing our best with what we know.
And it’s not easy. The parent-child relationship is one of the most complex we form, impacting how families function and how parents connect with their children (Chou, Cooper-Sadlo, & Jos, 2019).
In this article, we begin by introducing several parenting styles before focusing on ‘authoritative parenting.’
We explore how research shows it promotes empathy, compassion, and healthy development before introducing several helpful authoritative parenting techniques.
Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Relationships Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients build healthy, life-enriching relationships.