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The Psychology of Everyday Life:Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage

Parenting

What are the dangers of being too strict?

On the other hand, there is danger in being too strict and too controlling. When parental discipline feels excessively harsh, arbitrary or self-serving, parental authority loses legitimacy. The child may develop an antagonistic relationship with authority, responding to a wide range of authority figures with rebellious opposition or fearful resentment. Likewise, such children may have great difficulty translating parental discipline into self-discipline, which is the ultimate goal of all parental discipline. In adulthood, this might manifest in a refusal to exercise self-control or in problems with procrastination. Alternatively, overly controlled children can become excessively passive, their initiative and autonomy significantly constrained.



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