Zeno's Bar & Grill

Who knew there was a difference between being authoritarian and authoritative? Not me. I learned the difference from an article in the NY Times, which reports on a study showing that the former are more likely to have overweight kids than the latter.

Authoritarian parents are those who try to control everything about their kids, from how they dress to what they eat. Previous studies have linked this style of parenting which is high in control and low in sensitivity, to poor grades in school and behavioral problems.

Authoritative parents on the other hand, respect their children’s ideas and input, but draw firm limits. Sounds like an appealing model to strive for. As a bonus, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, their children also have the lowest risk of weight problems.

As an aside, yesterday I saw a mom trying to put her eleven year old daughter onto the elliptical trainer at my gym, over the strenuous objections of a club employee who was upholding the twelve year old age limit. Now, the question is: was this an authoritarian parent, encouraging her daughter to work out? The Pediatrics study claims this can backfire, leading children to avoid exercising. Or did the little girl really want to do the cardio-interval blaster on a lovely summer’s day?

--Melanie