Which parenting style works best for problematic kids?

Spy Phone at       Sep 2 2020 7:28PM

Which parenting style works best for problematic kids?

Kids tend to have their quirks but many become extremely difficult to deal with as they enter childhood from infanthood. There may be one or more reasons as to why a child is problematic; an underlying mental health condition, a learning disability, or maybe just heightened sensitivity. Whatever the reason is, parents have to adopt a plan that aids them in caring for and nurturing their children, no matter how difficult they are.
Adopting a particular parenting style is often the key to dealing with difficult children and experts have classified parenting styles into four categories; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved.

In raising a difficult child, typically, a combination of two or three styles may be required. The mix of the permissive and authoritative styles is ideal for difficult children and here are the reasons why.

Rules and compassion in tandem

Authoritative parenting involves enforcing rules. However, difficult children are never shy to break rules. But even if your child has broken a rule or two, you don’t have to be rough on him. Here’s where permissive parenting comes into play. Through compassion and empathy, forgive your child and also accept the fact that more rule-breaking is to happen in the future.

Being tough and strict with difficult children can often result in a significant dip in their self-esteem. Later on in life, such children may become fearful of authority figures in their lives and suffer from a permanent lack of confidence.

Reward systems

The authoritarian style of parenting does not feature any reward systems, with parents expecting total and absolute conformity to the established rules. On the other hand, authoritative parenting takes a child’s feelings seriously and involves reward systems that can act as motivation for children to be on their best behavior.
Combined with permissive parenting, this can slowly help your difficult child to ease into the rules and restrictions that you have set for him. As he gradually begins to toe the line, reward him for the positive changes and he is bound to stay on the right track.
Development of good habits

The permissive parenting style has one major flaw; parents don’t want to intervene and change bad habits in the hope that the child will learn on its own. However, when combined with the authoritative style, it can be used to great effect for forming long-lasting good habits.
For example, if your child refuses to brush his teeth in the morning, you can use the authoritative style to remind him of the rules and if he conforms to them the next morning, you can reward him. Such a combination of parenting styles can ensure that children start inculcating good habits in themselves.