Adapting parenting for your children at their ages and stages
Have you ever heard anyone say: ‘Parenting is a breeze!”? If you have, they’re either lying or they are yet to face any major issues with their children, however, the time for this will come.
Each child is different, and that can affect how you parent them throughout their life. We all have different ways of parenting, and often this is based around the way we were parented. We learn so much from our own parents, that when it comes to parenting your own children there will be some things you’d like to do differently, and other things you will find yourself doing the same.
Officially there are four main parenting styles, these are:
- Authoritarian
- Authoritative
- Permissive
- Uninvolved/neglectful
The recommended parenting style is authoritative parenting, this approach combines warmth, sensitivity, and setting the limits. This was is said to provide the best outcomes for children who grow up to be generally well behaved and less likely to engage in anti-social behaviour.
You can have rules without coming across as authoritarian which often includes punishments and shaming which can have a negative impact on a child’s mental health and well-being.
As your child grows and develops parents need to adapt their parenting style to suit the child’s age and developmental stage. Parenting a pre-teen or teenager is completely different from parenting a baby or toddler.
If you have multiple children you’ll find yourself parenting one child one way and another child another way corresponding to their age and stage in life. You may also find yourself parenting a child who is on the autism spectrum and another who is not. This can be extra challenging to navigate as one child may have the capacity to cope with certain life challenges whilst the other may not.
To sum things up, parenting is not easy, it is the most challenging, yet rewarding job anyone can do. It is not straight forward, and has its ups and downs, and round abouts, and although you can sometimes find yourself at whits end, each stage and phase will not last forever.
To find out more about parenting styles you may wish to visit the following websites.
- https://parentingscience.com/authoritative-parenting-style/
- https://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/adapting-your-parenting-style-for-your-childs-developmental-stage/
If you’re struggling and need help there are a number of places you can see assistance through. We’ve listed a couple below for you to consider.
- ParentLine – https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/serviceprofiles/parentline-service 1300 301 300
- Family Life – https://www.familylife.com.au/support/relationships/
- Anglicare – https://www.anglicarevic.org.au/our-services/family-and-parenting-support/
SASI Guest Parent Blogger