It commonly includes a rigid hierarchy in which the parent is always right and their decisions are not to be questioned. Authoritarian parents favor punishment over dialogue when addressing a problem. This parenting style commonly presents itself in high-achieving families. 

Authoritarian parents try to control their kids through different means of punishment (grounding / taking away privileges, withholding food, withholding affection, yelling / shouting, etc . . .). Traditionally, authoritarian parents lean toward corporal punishment (spanking, slapping, hitting with a switch, throwing things, etc . . .), although that trend has lessened in recent years.

If you catch yourself saying any of the following things, you may be slipping into the realm of authoritarian parenting:

• “No back talk”
• “Because I said so”
• “My way or the highway”
• “My kids have no discipline” 

While there are some benefits to be derived from this style, there are also many negative side effects, especially once your child reaches the teen years. Authoritarian parents tend to have much higher rates of conflict with their teens than parents that favor other parenting styles. 

Authoritarian Parenting Tactics:

• Setting high standards for their kids
• Providing rigid structure 
• Discouraging negotiation or dialogue
• Expecting orders to be obeyed without explanation (“because I said so”)
• Controlling children through punishment
• Yelling/ shouting when child misbehaves
• Controlling children through fear / threat of punishment (if you don’t get an A on your test, you can’t see your friends for a month)
• Not offering explanation for punishments
• Not offering children choices
• Shaming-- “Why do you always do that?”

Pros of authoritarian parenting:

• Provides a lot of structure
• Kids of authoritarian parents often
• Excel academically and in other high-structure environments
• Are very goal oriented
• Follow rules

Cons of authoritarian parenting:

• Does not provide a lot of emotional support
• Leads to frequent conflicts and fights, especially with teenagers
• Kids of authoritarian parents tend to
• Associate success or obedience with love
• Be more aggressive socially
• Struggle with self-motivation, especially as they grow older since they were taught to rely heavily on extrinsic motivation when growing up
• Have lower self-esteem
• Struggle with self-control

It’s important to distinguish authoritarian from authoritative parenting, especially because they sound so similar. Most of the problems that arise from authoritarian parenting don’t come from the rigid structure provided, but rather from the lack of responsiveness and warmth.