Research-backed
Image: Shutterstock
Parenting is a hard task, which does require immense efforts. But, at times, parents get too preoccupied with their own lives, making it hard for them to pay attention to their kids. And, this might make them feel unheard and unloved. This is what is termed as neglectful or uninvolved parenting. And, unfortunately, such parenting does no good for the children.
What Encompasses Uninvolved Parenting?
We are sure that you will agree with us when we say that it is the parents who influence their kids the most. In fact, some of the parent’s responsibilities include guiding, influencing, and teaching their little ones. Actually, parenting has two aspects to it; the first one being a parent’s response to the demands of their children (parental responsiveness) and the second one being the demands that a parent has from their children (parental demandingness). And, both of these are responsible for how warm or supportive parents are to their little ones. And, on the basis of the aforementioned aspects, the style of parenting can be further classified into four (1):
- Authoritative:Parents who are responsive as well as demanding
- Indulgent:Parents who are less demanding and more responsive
- Authoritarian:Parents who are more demanding than responsive
- Uninvolved:Parents who are neither responsive nor demanding
What happens in an uninvolved parenting is that the parents neither seem to demand anything from their children nor do they respond to their children. As a result, the parents end up showing no affection or love toward their little ones. They constantly spend their time either worrying about their life or their work, leaving no time at all for their kids. So, they neither participate in any fun activities with their kids nor do they turn up to any of their school events or functions. More often than not, you will observe uninvolved parents only providing shelter and food to their children and nothing else.
Uninvolved Parenting And Its Impact
It goes without saying that uninvolved parenting does leave its impact on the kids. The uninvolved parenting causes the kids to harbor an anger, which results in them acting out their feelings and emotions improperly. In fact, such kids are even more likely to join some gangs since they get a feeling of belongingness, something that they haven’t felt back at home (2). Here, we also talk about some of its impacts:
- Social Interactions:Uninvolved parenting often brings a lot of misery to their little ones. And, since kids pick a lot of their behavioral traits from their parents, aloofness becomes an unfortunate reality. So, they may grow up to be a social recluse, often exhibiting antisocial behavior (3).
- Bullying:Believe it or not, parents have a role to play in protecting their children from bullying. It is said that kids are more likely to get bullied by fellow mates or siblings if parents are not very involved in their lives.
- Behavioral Development:Surprisingly, when a study was conducted to compare the moral and behavioral development of neglected children versus the physically abused kids, it was observed that a neglectful parenting early on in life can prove to be more harmful to the kids’ overall development. In comparison to children who are physically abused, it is the neglected kids who are bound to have more social withdrawal and restricted interactions with their peers (4).
What Can One Do?
Uninvolved parenting may prove to be pretty detrimental to the overall development of the kids. However, it is also said that rarely do parents become neglectful towards their kids intentionally. For such parents, it is usually just an intervention that is required to get them back on track. In fact, it is also important to understand that such kids will also need a little more assistance.
Parents generally act uninvolved due to some financial or personal reason. So, with a little more help and guidance, it is possible for them to move towards a more positive parenting style. If you know someone who is struggling through something similar, extend a helping hand and enlighten them about uninvolved parenting and its setbacks. All the best!
