Growing up, people are exposed to various parenting styles through friends, relatives, the media and even variations within most households. For the most part parenting styles can be classified into three categories including: strict parenting, less parenting and a strange or unpredictable combination of the two. Most often strict parents get a bad reputation for not letting their kids be, well… kids. Parents that practice less parenting are the cool parents that every child thinks they would do anything to have. Then there are those combo parents who provide the best of both worlds, how they decide to handle different situations is always a surprise. Among the three, strict parents are most respected and feared by their children and even other children.

In the home of a strict parent, chores are done, grades are high, clothes are ironed at least one day prior and there is no wiggle room when it comes to discipline. Those who impose a consistent use of the strict parenting style are often military or of high class. Rules in the house of a strict parent are the ‘laws or the land’ for eighteen long years. Curfew for a senior student in this home is midnight, and that is a luxury that will not be abused. Technically, midnight means that child is in the house at 11:55pm, sober and greeting their parents in an appropriate manner. Otherwise, your cell phone will be called in most cases, or GPS tracked in extreme cases. These parents have one goal, and that is to prepare their children for sure success. In most cases this method is effective in the areas of school and work ethic, but not for social skills and common sense. Parents wishing merely to develop a social butterfly most likely will practice what I call ‘less parenting’.

Less parenting is most often a practice that only one parent sticks with. In a house with two parents, usually there is only one fun parent. In a single parent home, in which a parent practices less parenting, everything in pretty much a free-for-all. In this home there are no chores, everyone pitches in wherever they want to. Here, it is acknowledged that school may not be for everyone, there are no set standards for grades and passing the majority of coursework is appreciated. The fun parent has no curfew or rules and often times they lead a frivolous lifestyle. These parents most likely had a carefree life through childhood and adulthood or wish they had, in turn, they feel it is their responsibility to give their children what they so desired. Their offspring will quickly learn their personal limits and abide by them. This is one way to teach responsibility, but resembles a game of chance. The goal of an adult that believes in parenting less is usually to allow their children to find themselves and learn responsibility through the natural consequences of their actions. The combination of strict parenting and fun parenting may be the most effective method to raise a well-rounded adult.

The combination of two different extreme parenting styles mellows out to an unpredictable yet somehow balanced style. We will call this kind of parent a ‘combo’.
In such a setting, chores are usually done, sometimes requiring a prompt, curfews vary depending on the where and what and who. There are set standards in the house of a combination style parent, these standards are accompanied by the knowledge that not everyone is perfect and mistakes are a part of growing up. Some days are more orderly than others, while other days consist of more freedom. The combination of strict parenting and less parenting is probably the most common parenting style. The people who practice this combination can come from any and almost every background. Their goal is to raise a child with a generally developed sense of self, surroundings and a fairly good to very good education. These parents have a goal to produce well-rounded individuals that are aware of what they can achieve but do not lead an excessively stressful lifestyle. The offspring of combination parents are generally successful in their own way, they have been given the basic tools and been equipped to run with them.

Equipping children to face the world is the core of parenting style. Adults govern their homes based on their goals for those inside the home. Some parents follow the generational pattern laid out by their parents, or, if that pattern was deemed ineffective they may switch to the opposing extreme. Different adults utilize different parenting styles; they see different results based on their style of choice. Every child is different and every parent is different, therefore there must be varying methods when it comes to parenting. These variations can be classified into the groups above; the strict style, the fun style and of course, the combo.