Parenting Styles Quiz | What is your parenting style

Parenting Styles Quiz

For each of the following scenarios or questions, please pick the answer that best matches you. At the end, you can tally up your answers and see which parenting style your answers most closely resembled.

1. Your child is throwing a tantrum and wants to eat candy for breakfast. Which response most closely matches how you would respond?

• a. You don’t notice and your child just eats the candy.
• b. You discuss with your child why they want candy, and let them choose whether they want it now or later.
• c. NO! No candy for breakfast.
• d. You discuss with your child why it’s not healthy and say they can have a piece of candy with lunch.

2. When setting ground rules for your kids…

• a. There are no ground rules.
• b. You set ground rules, but at the end of the day kids will be kids.
• c. The rules mustn’t be broken.
• d. The rules you set are clear and strict, however, you understand if they need to be adjusted sometimes.

3. Your child doesn’t turn in their homework...

• a. That’s their own problem.
• b. You explain that it would be better if they turned it in because it would help them learn, but you don’t scold them or punish them.
• c. You ground them for 2 weeks.
• d. You make it clear that they should’ve done their homework and discuss why they didn’t turn it in. Then you help them organize their homework to perform better in the future, and ground them for 2 weeks as agreed upon (or 1 week if they turn in all their homework next week).

4. Regarding expectations for your children..

• a. You have no expectations at all
• b. You have minimal expectations
• c. You have extremely strict expectations
• d. You have high expectations, but there is some flexibility

5. Which of the following best reflects you..

• a. You don’t give your kids much time or attention
• b. Sometimes you feel like more of a friend than a parent
• c. You often answer questions from your child with “because I said so”
• d. You prefer to use positive discipline and reason with kids, as opposed to punishing them forcefully.

Quiz Results

That’s it! You should have an idea regarding the parenting style that matches you.

If you answered mostly A, you may show some traits that match the uninvolved parent.
The main traits associated with uninvolved parenting include:

• Little to no rules of discipline in the household
• Not much guidance, nurturing, or attention
• May not be aware of what the child is doing, generally, uninvolved.

If you answered mostly B, you may show some traits that match the permissive parent.
The main traits associated with permissive parenting include:

• Few demands for responsibility/orderly behavior.
• Parents present themselves as a resource to use for advice/information, but not in a way acting to shape their behavior or make their decisions for them.
• Allows children to have control over their own activities as much as possible.

If you answered mostly C, you may show some traits that match the authoritarian parent.
The main traits associated with authoritarian parenting include:

• Tries to shape the behavior of the child and control them based on their own morals and ideals.
• Expects child to obey and favors using punishment or consequences to control children
• Restricts child’s autonomy.
• Is not open for discussion, child should accept parents word as final.

If you answered mostly D, you may show some traits that match the authoritative parent.
The main traits associated with authoritative parenting include:

• Tries to direct the child’s activities using rational logic and clear communication.
• Is open for discussion and verbal give and take, shares the reason behind rules.
• Shares perspective as an adult, but is open to understanding the child’s perspective.

Of course, this quiz is too short to have the full picture of how you are as a parent, and if you are a mix of the different parenting styles that isn’t a bad thing!

Explaining the 4 Main Parenting Styles

The above parenting styles are based on research from Diana Baumrind’s parenting styles. Of course, these aren’t the only parenting styles! There are plenty of other new one’s falling around or in between these styles.

Think of things like: Helicopter parenting, gentle parenting, bulldozer parenting, tiger parenting and more.

At the end of the day, it's important to keep in mind that there’s no right or wrong way to parent. Everyone does it in their own way!

We hope you liked our quiz and learned a bit about the main parenting styles along the way! Be sure to check out our other community resources articles for more helpful tips for parents, diys, and activities for kids!