Children and Family
Approaches to Parenting
In the episode New Amsterdam (D), we see two of Baumrind's three approaches to parenting. Betty's divorced neighbor, Helen, is in a bind and asks Betty to babysit her son, Glen. Betty hesitantly agrees and goes over to Helen's house. When Betty arrives, Glen is playing the piano. Betty compliments him moments before his mother tells him to stop playing. Helen leaves some rules for Glen, telling him that he is not allowed to iron ("he loves doing it") and that he has to be in bed after his favorite television show. Then she kisses him goodbye.
Helen shows an authoritative parenting style by giving him direct expectations for the night, and is also responsive when she kisses him goodbye. According to Guerrero (2011), "authoritative parents have clear standards and expectations for how their children should behave, and these standards are communicated to the children in terms they can understand (7)." That night, Betty and Glen are watching television on opposite ends of the couch. Later on, Glen walks in on Betty while she's in the bathroom. She tells him to get out and scolds him when he continues to stand in the doorway. At this point, Betty seems to be an authoritarian parent, being very directive and nonresponsive. According to Guerrero (2011) on authoritarian parents, "in being nonresponsive, they expect their children to obey them without question (8)." When Betty returns from the bathroom, she explains to Glen why what he did was wrong and makes him apologize. Betty feels bad for scolding Glen and gives him a hug, showing her responsiveness and acting in more of an authoritative style. (Photo: see Notes, f) |
Arguments Between Parents and Young Children
In this episode we also see one of the major issues that parents and young children argue about according to Eisenberg - rules and manners. Helen leaves Glen with rules and expectations for the night regarding television and his bedtime, however, because she is an authoritative parent, he knows not to argue with his her.
According to Guerrero (2011), "conflict is most likely when incompatible goals are important to both people and hard to obtain (9)." It is easy to see why parents and young children argue about rules and manners because parents want their children to be polite and good, and children want to do what they want. This was probably an issue in the past for Helen and Glen, but because she explained what she expected of him and why, he does not put up a struggle to stay up late anymore. Betty also tries to instill manners into Glen through her conversation with him after he walks in on her in the bathroom. She tells Glen that the bathroom is a very private place and forces him to apologize to her, and says that that is no way to behave. (Photo: see Notes, g) For more information on references; see Notes. |