Date: 7/26/2023
Is Your Parenting Style Creating a Bully?
Estimated reading time: 2 min 1 sec
Ask yourself if your parenting style is creating a bully? Parents have a big impact on how their kids behave. We all want our children to be kind and respectful to others. But sometimes, the way we parent can lead to mean behavior in our kids.
Let’s look at two parenting styles: authoritative and authoritarian. These styles can affect whether a child becomes a bully or not. Creating a caring and loving home for our kids can help ensure they’ll act in a way that we’ll be proud of.
Authoritative vs. Authoritarian Parenting and Their Effect on Bullying.
Sadly, kids who get bullied by their parents will bully other kids when they can. Unfortunately, authoritarian parents will more often use criticism, sarcasm, put-downs, or hostile behavior toward their kids.
Authoritarian parents often use the following methods to make family rules, which can be harmful to their child’s emotional well-being:
- Threats: Parents scaring their kids to make them do what they want.
- Physical Force: Parents using physical force to punish their kids.
- Emotional Pressure: Parents controlling their child’s feelings to get their way.
- The threat of Physical and Emotional Pressure: Making kids afraid of both physical punishment and emotional harm.
- Physical or Emotional Control: Parents showing power over their child, either by using force or by controlling their emotions.
Kids who get bullied by their parents may have trouble dealing with their anger and expressing it. This differs for children who grow up in a caring and loving home. When kids are bullied at home, they can show mean or bossy behavior towards others because they copy what they’ve learned from their parents.
However, when parents use an authoritative approach, they are more likely to raise children who are kind and well-adjusted. This means they show love and support to their kids while also setting clear rules and boundaries. When parents are open with their kids, when they listen, and when they treat them with respect, it helps kids become more understanding, caring, and good at controlling their feelings. They also develop a good attitude toward others.
Can a Parent Influence Their Child's Kindness to Others?
How we parent really matters for how our kids act and think. Authoritarian parenting, which is strict and controlling, can accidentally make kids become bullies. But if we use an authoritative style, filled with love, support, and understanding, it helps kids become caring and responsible people who understand others’ feelings. And, staying involved in our kids’ activities at school helps too, creating less risk of future bullying.
As parents, choosing the right approach can make all the difference in helping our children grow into respectful and kind members of society.