In order to explore parenting styles among Brazilian families, 239 children (9-12 yrs old), from two public schools in Curitiba, and their parents answered two scales of parental responsiveness and demandingness. These scales, which categorize four parenting styles, were adapted for use with children (they were originally developed to be anwered by adolescents) and showed satisfactory reliability coefficients (alpha between 0,65 and 0,76). Parents were classified as: negligent (45,4%), authoritative (32,8%), indulgent (11,8%) and authoritarian (10,1%). Although parents have perceived themselves as being more responsive and demanding when compared to the opinions of their children, the correlation between the answers of parents and children was significant and positive. Additionally, the childrens' perceptions of their mothers correlated with that of their fathers. These differences in perception of parenting styles are discussed and the researchers call attention to the high number of negligent families observed.
Parenting style; parenting practices; discipline
