Consult the CDs by Jim Fay, who goes into considerable detail on this exact issue.

Yes, some people may not know the difference. But the ones that don’t, I never concern myself with. Because the ones that do, are my target audience. Or at least the ones that understand me.

Yes, I know the difference. It can be a difficult distinction to make though since both sound similar. If I hadn’t studied these for my motivation and management class, I would probably fall into the same trap.

HAHA..I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to study these different parenting styles..lol. Permissive is letting them do whatever they please with no consequences. Authoritarian is when the parents word is law, no room for compromise, very strict. Authoritative is having natural consequences, letting the child have some say in guidelines (you choose the curfew and bedtime together), its all about compromise, but rules are consistently enforced.