In fact, "authoritative" was the top-searched parenting style in March 2025. Part of the reason might be because it is often confused with authoritarian parenting, says pediatrician Dr. Mona Amin.

This long-held theory comes from the work of clinical and developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind, who identified four quadrants of parenting styles—authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and ...

Searches for "parenting styles" rose 400% over the last month, according to Google Trends data. And while modern child-rearing sources tend to focus on the difference between gentle parenting ...

And although that towering stack of books makes it seem like you need a PhD in parenting to do it “right,” good parenting actually boils down to a few simple core elements.