Permissive Parenting

• Permissive parents encouraged their children to think for themselves and avoid conformity. Misbehavior was usually ignored, and children were encouraged to learn from their own mistakes and the consequences of their actions. Children were not given routines or rules to follow and often lacked structure in daily life. Permissive parents allowed their children to make many choices, and accepted the child's behavior without ever commenting on whether it was beneficial.
  
  

Downfalls of Permissive Parenting

• This indulgent form of parenting may have raised some creative thinkers, but at the same time, the lack of scheduling and boundaries caused these children to struggle once they reached the adult world. Because they received no guidance regarding acceptable behavior, children of permissive parents often had difficulty fitting in professionally and socially. For aggressive children, their patterns became ingrained since they never learned more effective and acceptable ways of getting their needs met.
  
  

Authoritarian Parenting

• An authoritarian parent was extremely strict. Authoritarian parents often instilled the "it's my way or the highway" approach in their children and enforced rigid rules. Authoritarian parents often expected complete control, and they could be harsh when doling out punishment for their children. Often, the child's feelings were not taken into account when enforcing rules and there was little expression of warmth or affection. Children were not provided with choices, but were expected to follow their parent's rules without question.
  
  

Downfalls of Authoritarian Parenting

• Children of authoritarian parents often struggled to think for themselves, and because their parents rarely explained the reasoning behind the punishments, the children never really learned why certain behaviors were unacceptable. Either children grew into adulthood and struggled to think for themselves, or they rebelled as teens against their parents' strict ways, which could lead them into getting into dangerous situations.