Question

Meredith’s five-year-old friends at the playground run around from the rides to the slides, but Meredith’s mother told her she had to stay on the swings and not move elsewhere in the playground. When Meredith complained that the other children were allowed to play where they wanted, her mother told her to stay on the swings "because I’m the parent and I said so." She refused to explain her reasoning any further and threatened to punish Meredith if she asked again. This is an example of __________ parenting.
a. involved
b. authoritarian
c. permissive
d. authoritative

Answer 1

Answer:

B). Authoritarian Parenting.

Explanation:

'Authoritarian parenting' is demonstrated as the parenting style in which the parents adopt a reserved and unresponsive attitude towards their child. Such parents possess extremely high expectations from their child and if they fail to stand up to these expectations and make mistakes, they are sternly punished. Therefore, such parents do not offer a scope for questions or feedback.

In the given example, Meredith's parents exemplify this 'authoritarian parenting' as reflected by her mother's high expectations(reflected through strict instructions to five-year old Meredith) and her mother's denial to positively accept Meredith's questions/complaints displays the lack of responsiveness. Her directional attitude('because I said so') and threatening Meredith for not following her directions clearly reflect the authoritarian attitude of her parents and the lack of freedom that she suffers due to this. Thus, option B is the correct answer.