Parenting Styles Impact On Child Cognitive Development

Research problem:

Identify the level of impact that parenting styles have on a child’s cognitive development. The research will also focus on the different parenting styles, their strengths and weaknesses and their key components which help shape a child’s cognitive skills.

Research question:

The main research question would be: ‘What is the impact of parenting styles on a child’s cognitive development?’ Some sub-questions could be the following:

What are the different parenting styles: This section will explore the different parenting styles and look at how parents behave with their kids when they employ each of these styles. The differences in the parenting styles will be highlighted.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of the styles? Each of the parenting styles will have some advantages and disadvantages since it will help shape different parts of the kid’s life. These strengths and weaknesses will be explored to understand how they can influence the kids and their behavior over a period of time.

What constitutes cognitive development and what are the key influencing factors? Cognitive development will be explored to understand how kids’ minds are developed over a period of time and which factors can inhibit or assist the development.

How can parents move from one style to another to help their children? Though each parent will be attuned to a particular style which takes years to evolve, there could be a scope for a parent to adopt better parenting styles.

Could different parenting styles be combined for better cognitive skill development? Sometimes a combination of two/more styles could help a person become a better parent. This section will explore the possibilities, feasibilities and approach towards the same.

Research topic:

Adolescents and teenagers go through a lot of changes in their formative years. A lot depends on the interactions that they have with the world around them. Parents are the ones with whom kids interact for a considerable amount of life throughout their lives, and their style forms an important part in shaping their personalities and attitudes towards life. Cognitive, which stands for cognition, is the mental process encompassing awareness, reasoning, perception and intuitive skills. Kids also learn to think like their parents and a lot of their IQ and EQ skills are based on the kind of activities and lessons planned by their parents.

Parenting styles have two important dimensions, namely responsiveness and control. These two factors lead to 4 types of parenting styles: Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent/Permissive, Neglectful/Uninvolved. An authoritative parent is warm but very firm. They engage in discussions and encourage their children to think, do and learn from their mistakes. An authoritarian parent will try to exert control over their kids, leading to kids who are rebellious or totally dependent upon their parents. An indulgent parent will never say no to their kid. They are warm but undemanding and view themselves as a resource which could/could not be used by their kids. An uninvolved parent will be totally disconnected from their kids and are not warm towards them (Kopko, 2007).

The research paper will try to understand the linkages between parenting styles and the way it inhibits/assists in the cognitive development of their kids.

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