Free Personal Reflection on Parenting Essay Sample
My parents’ parenting styles were mainly authoritative and uninvolved. They were very much responsive and demanding initially. They usually supervised my conduct at all levels while I was in elementary school. However, they were not restrictive on me. I did not actually realize what they were doing on me. I did not for some reason like it but I came to realize later that the way they disciplined me was indeed supportive measures to develop my character.
As I was now used to school and moved to some higher levels of learning at the age of 11years, my parents were somehow uninvolved on me. At this point, they became less responsive and demanding. I felt like they were neglecting me. They did not punish me so often like they used to when I was barely 6-8 years of age. Well, even though they seemed like they had withdrawn from their authoritative nature, I was happy with the position that they had taken.
By the time I became a teen, they continued being cold and did not have limits on my behavior at all. Well, I had nothing to complain about and I felt like I was in a free world. As I grew towards 18years, I started to feel how important I needed them. My parents rarely knew where I was at a given time. They even did not show interest about knowing my progress at school. Although I took advantage of the situation, I later did not come to like it.
Based on this and the knowledge that I have earned at school, I am most confident that the authoritative parenting style is optimal. It is important to supervise what a child does as they grow. Again, the supervision must go along with supportive disciplinary measures. The efforts made in parenting must seek to correct and support the child to acquire good behavior. Punishment alone is not enough. Parents should show the child where he or she went wrong and then give the right directives. Parents should avoid authoritarian strategies as they make the child a social misfit.