Parenting Styles – What Do the UW Experts Say?
The Whole U was so excited to partner with faculty from the Center of Family and Child Well Being to host a panel discussion on popular parenting styles. Free range, attachment, and helicopter parenting were all on the agenda. Our panel consisted of Dr. Liliana Leguna, director of the Center for Child and Family Well Being; Dr. Mark Eddy, director of research for Partners for Our Children; and Dr. Suzanne Kerns, associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
Dr. Kerns began by asking the audience what they want for their children. Her personal desires were:
- Positive relationships
- Fostering independence
- Success in areas of interest (academics, sports, music, arts, etc.)
- Positive adjustment – able to be successful in a range of situations
- Interpersonal effectiveness – Able to be a good friend to others
- Harmonious family environment
- Caring and loving productive members of society
She gave us an overview of a few parenting styles and explained how each one prioritizes some of these goals more than others. Then, Dr. Lilian Lengua and Dr. Marc Eddy reflected with Dr. Kerns on the styles and used examples from their research and their personal experiences in parenting.
The bottom line for any parenting success is being consistent with your values as a family as well as adding warmth to your relationship with your children. Of course, that can be easier said than done, so it was so valuable to hear advice from parenting experts. Watch the video to hear their discussion:
We ended the seminar with questions from the audience. I found it reassuring to hear what challenges other parents face!
Thank you to these UW experts for giving their time to other faculty and staff!