Exploring Parenting Styles and its Influence on Young Children’s Social-Emotional Development

HRMARS - Family structures play an important role in every child’s growth and development. Every family is different and employs unique parenting patterns. Parenting styles which range from authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful, can have different impacts on a child’ s social and emotional development. Through a qualitative case study design, this study interviewed ten Malaysian parents to understand their parenting styles and how it influenced children’s social and emotional development. Data analysis using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis produced three important themes, namely, dominant parenting styles, age-related differences in parenting styles, and the influence of parenting styles on children’s social–emotional development. Findings reveal that on the whole authoritative parenting emerged as the most prevalent style, particularly among parents of children aged four and five, while permissive parenting was more common among parents of younger children and authoritarian parenting among parents of six-year-olds. Findings also found patterns where parents were found to actively adjust their parenting practices in response to children’s developmental stages and educational expectations. The study contributes context-specific insights into Malaysian parenting practices and highlights the need for developmentally responsive parental support in early childhood.