Introduction
Parents play a huge role in shaping children’s capacity to handle difficulties or meet their daily mental and physical demands. Hence, the approach deployed to raise children determines their psychological well-being and, consequently, their day-to-day activities. Parenting style may be defined as a collection of strategies and ways of conduct that a parent demonstrates or instills in a child deliberately or instinctively. In this paper, parents who deploy an authoritarian approach to raising their children are presented as contributing hugely to their destruction rather than molding them into reliable citizens.
The Impact of an Authoritarian Parenting on Children’s Health
In a study by Singh, approximately 26% of citizens who are above 18 years in America have reported to have suffered from mental issues in the course of their childhood lives (1523). This figure is significant. It points to a parenting aspect that may have been exercised to the extent of resulting in affecting such children’s psychological conditions.
Although various approaches such as authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles may be deployed to raise children, qualities depicted by people who adopt the former method are counterproductive and responsible for health damages reported among teenagers. Although parents are expected to handle children responsibly bearing in mind that they are growing and exploring various elements, any mistake done should not be approached sternly because they hardly do it deliberately.
However, authoritarian parents are characterized by their harsh and strict instructions whereby any violation of what they believe in may result in violence, regardless of whether such a purported offense is committed by an adult or a child (Singh 1522). The way parents communicate, correct, or interact with people, has a bearing on children’s well-being (Uji et al. 295). In particular, authoritarian parents’ failure to analyze an issue in a rational manner before punishing their children leaves them psychologically disturbed. They develop self-esteem issues, which end up affecting their daily operations following the fear that they may be engaging in things, which may result in stern punishment (Uji et al. 295).
This situation creates a permanent atmosphere that has the potential of ruining children’s future lives. Authoritarian parenting builds a counterproductive emotional setting, which children always associate with when carrying out their activities.
Parenting influences the extent to which children’s neuron development occurs. The growth of more than 100 billion neurons takes place in the tender days of a child’s development (Singh 1523). Parents contribute substantially in determining the way such elements bond to build up brain systems via interactions such as genetics, surroundings, and understanding. Children raised by authoritarian parents have higher chances of experiencing health issues ranging from anxiety disorders and stress, both of which are linked to poor neuron development (Singh 1523).
Although children wish to be brought up in an environment whereby they can freely interact with their parents to learn most of the basic elements such as communicating and interacting with others, authoritarian guardians never allow people to approach them, especially those who may not conform to their principles. In this case, children end up suffering considerably in terms of their psychological health because of the stress and nervousness they encounter when trying to adapt to this harsh parenting environment.
Conclusion
Although parents wish to see their children grow to become responsible and reliable citizens, some of the approaches they deploy with the hope of achieving this goal end up ruining their mental health conditions. This paper has linked authoritarian parenting to most of the counterproductive issues witnessed in children in the course of their growth and development. In addition to affecting children’s neuron establishment, these parents’ punitive measures and the failure to handle matters in a logical manner bring about anxiety and stress among young people.
Works Cited
Uji, Masayo, et al. “The Impact of Authoritative, Authoritarian, and Permissive Parenting on Children’s Later Mental Health in Japan: Focusing on Parent and Child Gender.” Journal of Child & Family Studies, vol. 23, no. 2, 2014, pp. 293-302.
Singh, Shweta. “Parenting Style in Relation to Children’s Mental Health and Self-Esteem: A Review of Literature.” Indian Journal of Health and Well-being, vol. 8, no. 12, 2017, pp. 1522-1527.