RSP44As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Plano, Texas, I get the opportunity to work with a lot of families. And in working with a lot of families I get the chance to see the varying parenting styles that different parents use. So in this episode I want to focus on four different parenting styles that I think are the most common (at least in my experience), and to encourage you to think about whether or not you struggle with any of them. The truth is, none of us are perfect parents…it just doesn’t exist. But at least we can become more aware of what styles we use that might be destructive, therefore, helping us make efforts to change some of them.

As I mention in the podcast, none of us are perfect parents, and we all struggle with different styles of destructive parenting (whether or not it’s listed below). Sometimes we struggle with all of them. The one I struggle with the most is the “helicopter” parenting style — which almost seems ludicrous when I think about it. How did I, who was raised with lots of freedom by Baby Boomer parents, become so overprotective. Some of it has to do with my pain cycle that I talked about in episodes last week. For example, because of the death of my mom at age 11, I tend to feel secure by taking control of certain things…myself…situations…and sigh….my kids. That doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I think understanding our pain cycle is helpful in understanding how that may influence our parenting.

So as you listen to my struggle in the podcast, hopefully you will realize that you aren’t alone in your destructive parenting styles. But hopefully the realization can lead to positive change.

In this episode I explore:

  • four different, destructive parenting styles that I come into contact a lot in my counseling office.
  • 1) passive or disengaged, parenting style
  • 2) “helicopter” parent, parenting style
  • 3) vicarious living, parenting style
  • 4) busyness or activity driven, parenting style
  • these four different, destructive parenting styles, and some ways to combat them

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I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Plano, TX. I specialize in relationships, both marriage and non-marital, as well as working with individual men and women, and adolescent boys. Some of the topics that I specialize in are anxiety, depression, transitions, spiritual issues, and all forms of relational struggles. I am the author of the books The Anxious Christian, and What it Means to be a Man. Check out my weekly podcast where I interview guests and cover a lot of these same topics.

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