Numerous factors determine the kind of adult a child grows up to be. From the type of education offered to the environment, lifestyle, and genes - each of these variables plays a part in developing the final brew.

One other factor that doesn’t receive enough attention is parenting style. However, this has a massive influence on a child’s upbringing. In fact, research shows that one’s approach to parenting goes as far as influencing their academic success. 

With this in mind, I’ll delve into one of the most effective parenting styles, positive parenting. Read on to learn more:

What Is Positive Parenting?

There are four major types of parenting styles, namely, authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved/ neglectful. As you’ll see below, positive parenting falls under one of these approaches. Let’s break them down: 

Authoritarian

This parenting technique is based on one premise - stringent discipline - a concept that opponents like to justify as “tough love.” 

As the name suggests, authoritarian parents like to exert their authority on kids. They like to intervene in almost every situation, giving orders and offering harsh criticism without any regard for the child’s feelings. 

As expected, this parenting style yields negative outcomes. Children raised by authoritarian parents are often rebellious and struggle to think independently. It's even possible that they'll end up being abusive to other people.

Permissive

This parenting approach is more relaxed. In fact, permissive parents assume more of a friendship role rather than that of an authoritative figure. 

As such, they set just a handful of boundaries, and rarely discipline their kids, even when they break the rules. Overall, this parenting style gives kids an upper hand, which should never be the case. 

Neglectful

Also known as uninvolved parenting, this technique is characterized by an overall lack of interest in raising kids. 

Parents who use this approach are barely involved. They set very few boundaries and are unresponsive and lax to the point that they can, at times, be careless. 

Authoritative 

Positive parenting falls under the authoritative style. In this approach, parents offer their kids unconditional love and support. And although they set distinct rules and boundaries, they also offer reasonable freedom. 

They only intervene occasionally or when there’s a valid reason to do so. They also don’t shy away from disciplining children. On the other hand, they are not abusive in any way, nor are they too controlling.

Positive parenting has strikingly similar traits. More specifically, this is a parenting style where caregivers encourage kids to behave well by focusing on their strengths. This is contrary to other approaches that focus on nit-picking their wrongdoings. 

This strategy is all about offering your little ones as much love and support as you can give and in an unconditional manner. Here are other traits of this parenting technique:

• Involves guiding and teaching your kids about what’s right and wrong.
• It’s nurturing and supportive.
• It’s mindful of kids’ needs.
• It’s never violent, encouraging open communication instead. 
• It acknowledges a child’s positive actions.
• It’s consistent and empathic. 
• It’s sensitive to the child’s feelings.

Why Is Positive Parenting Important?

Given all the positive things we have to say about positive parenting, it’s a no-brainer that it’s the style we recommend. But why is positive parenting so important? 

Leads to Stronger Relationships Between Parent and Child

If you’re looking to improve the relationship between you and your little ones, consider positive parenting. By encouraging positive interactions between the parent and child, this approach fosters trust between the two. 

As a result, kids will feel comfortable sharing issues with their parents; be it achievements or challenges. This is particularly important for children who are in middle school and high school, as this is when they’re likely to experience a lot of peer pressure. 

Fosters Communication Skills 

One of the main tenets of positive parenting is effective communication. 

When your child makes a mistake, your first course of action isn’t to yell. Instead, you would sit down with your child and invite them to talk about their emotions and thoughts. . 

This would help you understand the reasoning behind their actions. You’d then explain why what they did was wrong and the resulting consequences. By holding these regular discussions with your little ones, you’re helping them develop effective communication skills. 

They’re learning core principles such as turn-taking, maintaining eye contact, using polite language, active listening, and more. All these are skills that will help them communicate with their peers and other adults effectively. 

Develop Self-Esteem and Happiness

Another benefit of positive parenting is that it helps your child to develop high self-esteem and awareness. 

This approach emphasizes on encouraging and praising good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior. This, in turn, enables your child to have more confidence in themselves and their actions. 

On the other end of the spectrum, physical and verbal abuse on kids lowers their self-esteem and increases their risk of getting depression and anxiety. 

Encourages Mutual Respect

Positive parenting isn’t just about setting rules and expecting your kids to follow them blindly. Rather, it’s about explaining why you set these particular regulations and how they’ll be of benefit. Doing this encourages mutual respect between the parent and child. 

For instance, let’s say that you don’t like your kids going out without informing you. Don’t just set a rule where they have to ask for permission each time and be done with it. 

Instead, explain that you’re doing that to keep them safe. If anything were to happen, you’d be able to offer help quickly because you know exactly where they are.  

Conclusion

Although there are many parenting styles, positive parenting is by far the best approach. Its emphasis is on praising good behavior instead of punishing wrongdoings. 

It also fosters a stronger parent-child bond while encouraging mutual respect between the parties involved. Most importantly, it enables your child to grow up being confident with high regard for themselves. One added bonus is that your child learns effective communication skills through this process. This goes a long way in improving their social skills.