2.1: Stages of Parenting
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This page is a draft and is under active development.
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Types of Parenting
Psychologist Diana Baumrind (1927-2018), considered a pioneer of research in parenting, introduced the idea of parenting styles. Baumrind (1971) introduced 3 parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. In the 1980's, Maccoby and Martin (1983) noticed a gap in parenting styles that had not yet been addressed: the neglectful parenting style. Baumrind (1991) revised her parenting styles to include the neglectful style based on Maccoby and Martin's work.
Maccoby and Martin (1983) were more concerned about parenting styles, with less research on the child'd development. Baumrind, however, was more concerned about the association between parenting styles and the child's development, however her work neglected the impact of co-parenting between individuals with differing parenting styles.
Maccoby and Martin (1983) determined that parent types are determined based on their "demand" and "response." Demand being in reference to parents establishing rules and expectations, with high demand parenting being stricter and low demand parenting having little to no expectations or rules. Response being in reference to parents attention to children's needs and feelings, with high response parents being attuned to children's needs and low response parenting having little to no understanding of what their child is feeling or needing. Below are the types of parenting along with their demand level and response level as defined by Maccoby and Martin (1983):
|
Authoritative High demand, high response |
Authoritarian High demand, low response |
|
Permissive (or Indulgent) Low demand, high response |
Uninvolved (or Neglectful) Low demand, low response |
Stages of Parenting
Ellen Galinsky (born 1942) researched family dynamics, specifically the development that parents go through themselves as they navigate parenting (Galinsky, 1987). Galinsky was one of the first researchers to focus on parent's development, noticing the transformation that parents go through as they undertake their roles. As children grow, she noted that parents had to have a responsive and develop new skills in response to their developing child.
| Stage | Age of Child | Markers of the Stage |
| 1. Image Making Stage | Before Child (planning/pregnancy) | Parents are excited and are beginning to plan. They begin to envision their life with a child and what the child may be like (ex. who the child looks like, what they may enjoy, a boy or girl). Parents are beginning to wonder what it will be like to be a parent themselves. |
| 2. Nurturing Stage | Infants | Parents are beginning to adapt to life with a child and are beginning to bond with their baby. The goal during this stage is to establish an attachment relationship with the child. |
| 3. Authority Stage | Toddlers/Preschool | In this stage, parents are beginning to make firm decisions about how they parent and are establishing what they should do when children break rules they have established. |
| 4. Interpretive Stage | Middle Childhood | This stage begins when children are beginning school. Parents are helping their child to navigate new experiences beyond in their own home. Parents at this stage are determining what values to teach their child and answer their children;s questions. Parents are also beginning to evaluate their own parenting styles and choices. |
| 5. Interdependent Stage | Adolescence | As children begin puberty and become teenagers, parents are redifining and negotiating their relationship with their child. Children are beginning to make decisions outside of their parent's authority, however parents are still responsible for the child and have to set their decisions accordingly. |
| 6. Departure Stage | Early Adults | Children are getting ready to depart the home and parents are redefining their identity. Parents are evaluating themselves as their children become independent. |
References
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental psychology, 4(1p2), 1.
Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. The journal of early adolescence, 11(1), 56-95.
Galinsky, E. (1987). The six stages of parenthood. Perseus Books.
Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In P. H. Mussen (Series Ed.) & E. M. Hetheringtono(Vol. Ed.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. IV. Socialization, Personality and Social Development (4th Ed., pp. 1-101). New York: Wilepy.