First of all, consider what type of parenting you practice:

(Support refers to your availability and the warmth you display toward your child.)

(Control refers to discipline, accountability and how closely you monitor your child.)

Authoritative: High Support/High Control     Authoritarian: Low Support/High Control

Indulgent: High Support/Low Control            Neglectful: Low Support/Low Control

If you fall under the description of indulgent, you may want to reconsider your parenting style. Parents high on warmth yet low on accountability place their children at triple the risk of heavy drinking. But simply being a strong disciplinarian isn’t the answer either. On the opposite end of the spectrum, authoritarian parents who are high on discipline yet low on warmth place their children at still double the risk of heavy drinking.

Research shows that youth least prone to heavy drinking have parents who practice an authoritative style of parenting; a warm, loving and nurturing relationship with an equally high sense of accountability and follow through when it comes to discipline.    

If you practice an authoritative style of parenting, you’re on the right track. If you fall under one of the other categories, you may want to adjust accordingly.

Source: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 71, 539-543, July 2010.