Ep 10 - Not All Parenting Styles are Created Equal

Cast:
Dr. Tara Egan, child & adolescent therapist and host
Anna, teenage co-host

Much of the content discussed in this episode on parenting styles incorporates research originally pioneered by Diana Baumrind from the 1960s. Subsequent research has supported and expanded upon her original work. As the episode progresses, Tara and Anna define each parenting style, describe the impact of these parenting styles on children's behavior and thought patterns, and provide relatable examples from real life and media.

1) Authoritarian parenting style: strict, unresponsive to emotional content, quick to yell or punish, impatient, critical, condescending, inflexible

Examples: Red Foreman from That 70s Show, Richard Spier from The Babysitter's Club

2) Permissive parenting style: most commonly seen in Dr. Egan's work with families, expectations for their child are low, overprotective of their child's emotional state, over-accommodating, has low demands for child, struggles to set boundaries with kids and maintain authority, cannot tolerate their child being uncomfortable (resulting in kids becoming unable to handle experiencing discomfort)

Example: kids sleeping in their parent's bed when parents really don't want them to (this is a separate issue than co-sleeping), Regina George from Mean Girls, Lily VanderWoodsen from Gossip Girl

3) Uninvolved parenting style: parents are less engaged, unresponsive to emotional cues, uninvested in the nuanced aspect of parenting, non-confrontational, appease their children in a disinterested way, superficial relationship with child, poor supervision (such as with social media), low demands for child which can impair the child's motivation

Example: Selina Myers from Veep, Johnny and Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek

4) Authoritative parenting style: most beneficial parenting style, parents account for kid's opinion but don't put children in the position of making adult decisions, demonstrates emotional responsiveness, fair & reasonable consequences that are followed through upon, allow kids to feel discomfort and help them cope, fosters a sense of competence in kids, factors in the word count of kids, finding balance between responsiveness and structure, using humor to connect, reinforcing positive behavior, taking into account their developmental stage and maturity level, guiding and supporting versus controlling or dismissive

Helpful phrases: "Accept the No" and "Word Count"

Examples: the parents from Full House and Fuller House, Greg and Katie from American Housewife, Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls (sort of)

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To learn more about Dr. Tara Egan, visit HERE.
To learn more about Dr. Tara Egan's therapy practice based in Charlotte, NC, visit HERE.

"One Day You'll Thank Me" is edited by Laura Bauder from PodcastHers.