Brain Rules for Baby (John Medina) / quote 67 of 91
Authoritative parenting works best
Authoritative: Just right Responsive plus demanding. The best of the lot. These parents are demanding, but they care a great deal about their kids. They explain their rules and encourage their children to state their reactions to them. They encourage high levels of independence, yet see that children comply with family values. These parents tend to have terrific communication skills with their children. Neglecting parents tended to produce the worst-behaved, most emotionally challenged kids on the block; they got the worst grades, too. Authoritative parents produced Doug. Baumrind’s insights were confirmed in a massive 1994 study involving thousands of students as they entered adolescence in California and Wisconsin. Based solely on parenting behavior, researchers successfully predicted how the kids would turn out, regardless of ethnicity.