Authoritarian parenting is known for its strict rules and high expectations. This style allows little room for mistakes or independence. Parents who apply this approach rarely offer explanations for their rules, leading to children who are well-behaved out of fear.

However, while obedience is achieved, it often comes at a cost. Children raised by authoritarian parents may suffer from low self-esteem and poor decision-making abilities due to the lack of autonomy and nurturing.

The authoritative style is often seen as the “best” way to parent. It blends high expectations with a supportive environment. Authoritative parents maintain control but also encourage independence and self-discipline.

Children raised by authoritative parents are generally well-adjusted. They tend to be socially competent, self-reliant, and exhibit strong leadership qualities. These children also experience fewer mental health issues like anxiety or depression.

Uninvolved parenting is characterized by neglect and unresponsiveness. People who take this approach to parenthood meet only the most basic needs of their children but show little emotional involvement.

The lack of structure and emotional support in uninvolved parenting leads to significant issues for children. They often struggle with boundaries, display behavioral problems, and are more prone to mental health issues and delinquent behaviors.

Permissive parents are warm but set few rules or boundaries for their children. Permissive parents struggle to enforce limits, leading to impulsive behavior in their kids.

While there are some benefits, such as high self-esteem and outgoing personalities, the lack of structure can lead to unhealthy habits. Children raised this way may have difficulty regulating emotions and accepting limits in other settings.

Shelby Lynch is a girl with spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a genetic disorder that affects the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscles. Back in 2020, she decided to hop on a TikTok trend and post a video of herself and her boyfriend, who is also using an electric wheelchair. In just a few hours, the video gained a lot of attention and Lynch got a lot of TikTok followers. Now, two years later, she’s continuing to post videos debunking misconceptions about her disability. Her videos have over 15 million likes!

Debunking Disability Myths

One of the goals Lynch has is to show others that people with disability are the same as everybody else. She shared that she thinks the more people with disability talk about it, the more this message will spread. Another girl, Tiffany Yu, who has one of her hands paralyzed also started posting about her disability. She saw a video by another creator with a similar disability doing their hair in a totally different way to hers, so she decided to show how she does it. She’s also showing her followers how she’s doing her nails, applies mascara, and ties her hair in a ponytail.

There’s More to It

While many of these TikTokers spend hours answering the questions of their followers and talking about their disabilities, they also want to show the world that there is so much more to them. Some of the creators are showing their makeup skills, others are sharing more about their life and dating. Sharing their stories on social media is helping people who have been isolated and feel objectified because of their disability to find a community and reclaim their narrative. The normalization of disability can help young disabled people greatly and change a lot the trajectory of their lives in terms of self-advocacy.

Changing the Perception

Many of these creators never had anyone to look up to when they were growing up. For most, their disability was not represented in any way in common media and this made them feel very much alone. This is the reason many  TikTokers keep creating videos and sharing about their life with a disability. It doesn’t only help others but also the creators themselves, with building up their self-confidence. It’s an important movement that will change the lives of many young people and hopefully, many people with disabilities will not only be included but actually accepted.