California State University Northridge Parenting Styles Questions

• You will be interviewing two sets of parents (or people in a parenting role).
• It does not matter what age their children are – they can be adult children down to infants.
• Compile your findings into a paper that discusses your own ideas on parenting styles and why.

in the paper you should include:

• Both interviews – your questions and their responses.
• The background of the two families you interviewed (family structure, family backgrounds, including the parenting styles that the parents themselves experienced)
• Your own ideas on parenting styles – did they change?.
• Your own conclusions on parenting styles. Is there one style that’s ideal?
• Support your responses with any research you did on parenting styles. This can be from our readings on parenting styles or additional academic research that you did.

Suggested questions for the interview:

1. Define the different parenting styles for them – authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, neglectful.

2. What parenting style do you think you mostly use? Can you give an example?

3. Is this a similar parenting style that your family used? Can you give an example?

4. Did you actively choose to be a similar type of parent or a different type of parent than

our own family?

5. How do you feel that your parenting style works with your child? Can you give

examples?

6. Are there situations that you feel as a parent you are very effective with your child?

Example?

7. Are there situations where you feel ineffective? Examples?

8. If you have more than one child, do you find yourself often using different parenting

styles with different children? Why or why not?