The Difference Between Parenting Styles and Strategies

Parenting styles, such as authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful, tend to be almost inherent to the individual, something that is unlikely to change. A parenting strategy is something an individual chooses. It may be based upon their parenting style, but it can also change in response to needs and behaviours. Parenting strategies tend to be in regards to disciplinary measures. Strategies are usually needed to attend to problem behaviours, which tend to arise because of ineffective discipline, as in the case of intermittent discipline, or coercive discipline, such as spanking or yelling. While any parent may have moments of ineffective parenting strategies, especially in the face of various life stressors, ineffective parenting strategies tend to be associated with an authoritarian parenting style. This harsh parenting style may then provoke further misbehaviours.
Parenting Styles and Strategies
A study completed by Anne Fletcher (2008), defined the parenting strategies as a form of parenting practices. These practises are simply one way a parent can express their parenting style. Fletcher sought to discover if the four parenting styles differed in their use of coercion and harsh punishments, as well as if these two parenting strategies are affected by individual parenting styles. Three hundred seventy fourth grade children and their mothers were interviewed and they were assessed based along a “yielding to coercion” scale, as well as a behaviour checklist, and the child’s academic grades, which were obtained from their various schools (Fletcher, 2008). Fletcher’s study showed that for optimal adjustment, parents should interact with their children with high levels of responsiveness and lower levels of demandingn...

... middle of paper ...

...l responses, and children’s coping strategies. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 37(4), 524-532. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2010.01196.x.
Fletcher, A. C., Walls, J. K., Cook, E. C., Madison, K. J., & Bridges, T. H. (2008). Parenting style as a moderator of associations between maternal disciplinary strategies and child well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 29(12), 1724-1744. doi: 10.1080/03033910.2012.724645.
Murray, A. (2012). The relationship of parenting style to academic achievement in middle childhood. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 33(4), 137-152. doi: 10.1080/03033910.2012.724645.
Yamagata, S., Takahashi, Y, Ozaki, K, Fujisawa, K. K., Nonaka, K., Ando, J. (2013). Bidirectional influences between maternal parenting and children’s peer problems: a longitudinal monozygotic twin difference study. Developmental Science, 16(2), 249-259. doi: 10.1111/desc.12021.