Parenting+Patterns+&+Family+Structures

Grandparents acting as surrogate parents to their grandchildren, a family structure also known as a "grandfamily," is becoming increasingly well-known. The reasons why grandchildren are growing up in their grandparents' households are often unknown to others and rarely discussed, however some explanations include the death of a parent, a parental illness which is mentally or physically debilitating, an imprisoned parent, or parental abuse/neglect. As one can imagine, raising children at retirement age is not without its challenges. Specifically, grandmothers raising their grandchildren are at risk of developing an increase in stress, health problems, feeling isolated, and insufficient finances. The concerns for grandfathers are similar. Regardless of topics of concern, the grandfamily structure has its positive effects as well. For example, grandparents who are willing to raise their grandchildren can prevent them from having to go into foster care and can provide an environment in which they can be loved and cared for, which is crucial to normative childhood development.
 * __Grandchildren Raised by Their Grandparents__**

It is important for professionals to be informed of the increasing number of grandchildren being raised by their grandparents so that they can be sensitive to the new life changes and stressors that the grandparents are facing. Knowing these challenges may make them less likely to wrongly judge the grandparents' ability to care for the children. Also, this knowledge would benefit professionals in their understanding that the grandchildren often have experienced some kind of physical or emotional drama with their biological parents. Being aware of the challenges that the grandparents must now face, can give them a clearer picture of how to help the grandfamily, whether through some type of financial aid or perhaps a support group for grandparents and/or children being raised by grandparents. There are also a host of legal issues these grandparents must face, involving the custody of their grandchildren and defining their rights as primary guardians. If professionals are informed of these legal hurdles, they can better advocate for the grandchildren and their grandparents and guide them to beneficial workers in the correct legal field. They may also be able to provide the grandfamily with respite care to give the grandparents sufficient time to relax and do necessary errands. Since the concept of grandparents acting as surrogate parents for their grandchildren is becoming increasingly prevalent, it is becoming increasingly important for professionals who work with families to beware of the unique obstacles, as well as benefits resulting from the grandfamily structure.

The indulgent style of parenting is a style where the parents typically let their children "run the show". A parents who uses this style of parenting for their main approach of parenting is very low on the demanding scale but very high on the responsive scale. Those who use this style are very loving, responsive and supportive of their children, but do not know how to tell them no so their children basically get whatever they want whenever the want it. Along with providing their kids with what they want these parents rarely set limits, rule or provide consequence when the child misbehaves. The reason that parents tend to use this style is because they are afraid disciplining their child will have a negative effect on them. Some parents are also fearful that if they say no to their child that they will no longer love the.
 * __Parenting Styles- Indulgent Parenting__**

Learning about the different parenting styles can be very helpful when working with kids because it allows you to start to understand why the kid acts like they do. For example if a teacher had a kid that was very good at manipulating, irresponsible for their age and did not like being told no, and did not handle consequences well the could make an assumption that the child has indulgent parents. If this was a case in the teacher's room he/she could meet with the parents and discuss the issues in the classroom and see if they connected at home. Also the teacher could provide resources to the parents about setting boundaries for the children to follow at home that are consistent with the boundaries that are set at school (no hitting others). In general knowing about all the different styles of parenting can help those working with kids or families provide adequate resources or support to improve the quality of parenting style. It also helps manage challenging kids because if you know the reason they are struggling, for example indulgent parents, then it will be easier for you to find a successful solution to improving the child's behavior.

__**Authoritative Parenting**__ The authoritative parenting style has the most positive effects on children. Roughly 45% of US parents use this style. Authoritative parents are high in demand, and high in responsiveness. These parents are also very nurturing and communicate with their children why the rules are what they are. These parents change the rules for every child, because every child is different and requires different rules based on their needs. These parents allow their children to question them and ask why a boundary is what it is, and these parents will explain. Children of these parents often have higher levels of academic achievement, and are higher in psychosocial maturity reasoning ability, empathy, and altruism. It is important to remember that every parent, no matter what style of parenting they have, loves their children very much.

Parenting Styles: Indifferent Parenting Style

The indifferent parenting style is a style where the parents either reject their own children or do not spend enough necessary time and energy with them. They don't expect much from their children. The parents rarely bother to use any sort of discipline with them or make guidelines regarding what their expected behavior is. They express little love or concern for their children. Parents who choose to use indefferent as their parenting style are very low on the demanding and responsive scales. The children of indifferent parents usually end up growing up very aggressive, have a high rate of delinquency, they can even start earlier in sexual involvement, and have a greater likelihood of using drugs and alcohol.

I believe that is is very important for both parents and professionals to know learn about the different types of parenting styles. I feel that by knowing the parenting styles you will be able to learn why a child is the way he or she is. I want to be a Child Life Specialist when I grow up. An example of why a Child Life Specialist would need to know background about parenting styles would be the following: if a child was in the hospital because he/she was diagnosed with some type of illness and was acting very aggressive and antisocial the specialist could put together that the child probably has indifferent parents. In this type of situation, the specialist could have a one on one conversation with the parents to try and find out what is going on at home and see if it matches up to the information she is getting from the hcild. The specialist could promote how important it is to have a good nurturing relationship with their child and how it effects the child in many ways. For example, they could find an activity to do outside of their home (e.g. Boy Scouts/Gilr Scouts) or a family game night of some sort. Overall, I feel that by understanding the different types of parenting styles will help parents and professionals know why children are the way they are and the best ay to communicate with them.