Diana Baumrind, a developmental psychologist, devoted her career to researching the effectiveness of different parenting styles and found that children tend to thrive most when both warmth and structure are involved. Contemporary studies in Frontiers in Psychology and Children have reached the same conclusion, showing that while permissive parenting, which includes a great deal of affection but lacks firm guidelines, is not associated with positive outcomes, authoritative parenting, which provides both support and structure, is usually associated with better adjustment.
The importance of the distinction lies in the fact that parents often want to be close to their children and fear that imposing rules may harm the relationship; however, psychology suggests that an inverse problem may be more prevalent. If everything is discussed and negotiated all the time, the child can lack practice in a crucial skill necessary for adulthood: being able to function properly in situations where the answer is just plain "no."
