AuthoriGreenMent

What's with all of these parenting styles these days?!

Indulgent Parenting, Authoritarian Parenting, Authoritative Parenting and Uninvolved Parenting.  (By the way, that Uninvolved Parenting style kind of seems like borderline child neglect to me!)

Then, there's what I like to call non-traditional "parenting styles" that have emerged in more recent years like Attachment Parenting, Green Parenting, BabyWise, and many, many more!

I had never heard of defining your personal parenting style until about half way through my pregnancy (and I do a LOT of research and have a large family full of children!).  The parenting style conversations started to emerge on my WTE message boards.

How can you define your personal parenting style before your child is even born?  Before you even know what your child's personality is going to be?  Before you have the chance to see what works and what doesn't?  And Why would you even try to define it?

Normally, I'm an extraordinarily organized (borderline OCD :) person, so I like to research everything.  This is one thing I did not research and never will.  Call me crazy, but I guess I'm all about trial and error.  What works for one kid may not work for another so to define your parenting style is absolutely baffling to me.

What happened to you and your significant other raising your children together with your own style, your own set of beliefs, your own system for disciplining, etc?!  That's what we're doing - Maybe I'll call it the Joaniel Parenting Style...I'll write a book and sell it to millions of people and make millions of dollars! :)

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about reading up on how to be better parents and having books like Dr. Spock and the What to Expect series (I have '...When You're Expecting,' '...the First Year,' '...the Toddler Years' and 'What to Eat when You're Expecting.' - I'm a fan!)  But I don't like the idea of paying money to build a library on how to be a certain type of parent...I feel like that comes naturally.  You know, maternal instinct...

I guess if I had to define our parenting style out of the four main ones, it would be authoritative.  Definition:  The Authorative (Democratic) Parent: These types of parents try to treat their children like adults, giving them choices and letting them see the results of their decisions. Children in these situations tend to be more cooperative and higher self esteem because they feel that they have control of certain things in their life.

That's another thing...Why is it that these parenting styles sound like political movements?!  But I digress...

Now, out of the non-traditional styles (at least out of the ones I listed above and have heard the most about), I'd say Daniel and I are definitely an excellent combo of Attachment (The 7 Baby B's) and Green Parenting (Earth-friendly Living).

Forget the Joaniel Method...Maybe I'll start my own parenting style called AuthoriGreenMent...