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Is one kind of parenting plan better than another?

On Behalf of | Aug 24, 2022 | Parenting

When you and your spouse sit down to talk about how you’re going to raise your children after your divorce, one of the topics should surround punishments. What will you do if your child is acting up? What will you do if they get bad grades?

Depending on your parenting styles, you both may not agree on the same kinds of penalties. That’s why it’s important to talk about these items now.

There are seven main kinds of parents

Psychologically, there are seven different kinds of parents. They include:

  1. Authoritative parents
  2. Authoritarian parents
  3. Attachment parents
  4. Permissive parents
  5. Free-range parents
  6. Helicopter parents
  7. Uninvolved parents

Each parenting style represents a different approach to raising children. An authoritarian might state that they are the boss and that the children just have to do as they’re told, for example, whereas permissive parents sit back and watch their children learn from their own mistakes (in a safe, monitored manner).

Usually, conflicts arise when two parenting styles are at odds. For example, if you’re a helicopter parent and are overly cautious about what your children do, a permissive parent spouse may have concerns that you’re not allowing your children to do enough. Similarly, a free-range parent that lets children do what they please most of the time may not get along well with an authoritarian parent.

Knowing your parenting style may help you avoid conflict

By setting up time to talk with your spouse about how you’re going to handle problems with your children as they get older, you may be able to avoid issues linked to different parenting styles. Your spouse might say that your children should never fear punishment at home, for example, but you may believe in being an authority and making sure your children have a strong sense of right and wrong.

Discussing these conflicts now will help you avoid bigger problems when your children are going back and forth between homes for parenting time. Hopefully, you and the other parent will be able to find a happy medium that works well for your children.