Heavy-handed parenting techniques aren't all the Tiger Mom says they're cracked up to be - according to a new study that links strict parenting to childhood obesity.
The study looked at 37,000 Canadian children aged zero to 11 years old, and surveyed their parents' style of raising them. The study predominantly broke the families into two groups based on the four commonly recognized styles of parenting: one associated with the 'authoritative' style of parenting, where rules are enforced but the parents remain open to discussion, with some flexibility when rules were broken. The other group, 'authoritarian,' instead comprised of parents who were inflexible with rules and boundaries, and, similarly, less open to discussing matters with their children. Once the groups were determined, the researchers collated data on the children's BMIs, with stricter parents found to be more likely to have children with BMIs at or exceeding 30. Indeed, those with authoritarian parenting styles were 30 percent more likely to have raised obese children aged two to five, and 37 percent more likely to have raised obese children aged six to 11.
Lead researcher Lisa Kakinami from Montreal's McGill University noted that parenting style was the key differentiator in this study, with previous studies looking at other habits, such as parental consumption of junk food or parents who tend to be more lenient with allowing their children to watch television and play video games. "Parents should at least be aware of their parenting style," said Dr. Kakinami. "If you're treating your child with a balance of affection and limits - these are the kids who are least likely to be obese." Kakinami also pointed out that stricter parents likely made the appeal of certain junk foods stronger, thus leading to the children either deliberately rebelling or inadvertently developing a less healthy outlook on diet.
Further, the relationships between parents and children were key. "The main difference in authoritative versus authoritarian styles is the warmth expressed between the parent and child," she said to TIME Magazine. "Authoritative parents ranked higher on praise than authoritarian parents." Authoritarian parents were also "most likely to respond emotionally and punish the child, but not tell them what they had done wrong."
Kakinami's team presented their research abstract at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014. The study is entitled In Praise of Demanding Parenting: The Effects of Parenting Style and Poverty on Obesity Risk in Children: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample.
