In this book, leading scholars update our thinking about authoritative parenting and address three unresolved issues: mechanisms of the style’s effectiveness, variations of effectiveness across cultures, and untangling how parents influence children from how children influence them.

Psychologist Diana Baumrind's revolutionary prototype of parenting, called authoritative parenting, combines the best of various parenting styles. In contrast to previous emphases on parental responsiveness alone (permissive parenting) or on demandingness alone (authoritarian parenting), authoritative parenting combines high levels of both responsiveness and demandingness. The result is an appropriate mix of warm nurturance and firm discipline.

By integrating perspectives from developmental and clinical psychology, the book will inform prevention and intervention efforts to help parents maximize their children’s potential.