Parenting Styles Quiz
I thought it would be fun to write a little quiz for Twin Daddy and I to complete about our different parenting styles. Feel free to take part and post your answers in the comments below or share them on your own blog!
Here are the questions I set out. My answers are in pink and Twin Daddy’s answers are in blue. If we both chose the same answer, then it will be yellow.
Questions
1. You’re out on your own and have decided to be brave and leave the pushchair at home. You decide to go for a walk to the shops with your children and they’re demanding to be picked up, put down, picked up and then put down again. Do you:
a) Happily oblige. You don’t mind doing whatever your little prince/princess wants
b) Oblige so as not to cause a scene. After all who wants a screaming toddler hanging off their legs for the world to judge what sort of parent you are
c) Pick up your child and try your best to contain them in your arms
d) Continue to walk without picking up your child
2. You take your child to a play group/soft play centre. Do you:
a) Follow their every move. You don’t want them to come to any harm – whether it be a bite or pinch from another child
b) Sit in the same spot, but don’t take your eyes off them for a second
c) Every now and then you’ll look up from your mobile to ensure they haven’t escaped
d) Spend the entire time on your phone/reading a newspaper/chatting to other parents
3. When out shopping with your children, your child gestures for a toy they have seen. Do you:
a) Hand it to your child without much thought and decide to buy it for them
b) Hand it to your child to keep them quiet whilst you continue to shop in relative peace and then dump it somewhere in the shop!
c) Smile, but say not today
d) Ignore your child
4. As your child gets older, you decide that they need to help with some of the household chores. Do you:
a) Write a long list of chores that need to be done before your child goes anywhere or does anything
b) Assign one chore to each child per day
c) Use a reward chart to encourage your child to do their chores
d) If they make their own bed, you’re happy and will do the rest
5. You’re fed up of being used as a bank and decide it’s time to teach your children the value of money. Do you:
a) Refuse point blank to give your child any money for the foreseeable future, unless absolutely necessary (school books etc.)
b) Get your child to do chores in exchange for money
c) Give your child a set amount of money each week and when it’s gone, it’s gone!
6. Your child is 13 years old and wants to stay over their friends house for the night. Do you:
a) Agree, no questions asked
b) Agree, but ring the friends parents to ensure this is in fact where they are staying and set out some boundaries/curfews
c) Say you’ll think about it, knowing all along that you’ll only end up saying no
d) Flatly refuse. What’s wrong with your own bed?!
7. As your child becomes more interested in going out with their friends after school. Do you:
a) Say no problem, see you later
b) Say ok, but text me when you’re on your way home
c) Say ok, but I want you home by (set time)
d) Say ok, but no more than an hour
8. Your child gets their first boyfriend/girlfriend at the age of 14 and wants them to stay over. Do you:
a) Agree, no questions asked
b) Agree, but they’re not to share a room
c) Refuse, refuse, refuse! Not in my house!
Our thoughts on the results
I was surprised by some of Twin Daddy’s answers as I thought for questions 6 and 7 Twin daddy would have gone for option a for both questions.
Twin Daddy was surprised by my answer for question 3 as in his words ‘I just can’t believe you’d give in an buy it. It doesn’t teach them anything.’ In response to this, when our girls were younger I thought I would just say not today, but when I’m in a shop with them and they see a toy they want, I think if we can afford then why not! I do see Twin Daddy’s point of view though as it doesn’t teach them anything other than ‘I want, I get.’ I’ll have to work on this and be a bit more restrained!
Twin Daddy was also surprised by my response to question 4. Twin Daddy says ‘If you give them one chore a day to do they’ll get use to that habit. Why are you rewarding them for something they should do anyway.’ I think this one comes to do the way that I was brought up. If I wanted to go out, I had to ensure my chores were done. My reward was going out.
Twin Daddy does say that he wishes he had given his three children by his first marriage pocket money as it would have helped teach them the value of money.
Why don’t you have you go at this quiz and see if you’re surprised by any of the answers?!
