Analysis of the Freedom Scale in Parenting Styles with Islamic Teachings

The concept of freedom and its emersion in parenting is one of the important issues in the field of training and education. Inevitably, parents will have to deal with the issue of freedom in their children's upbringing. Nowadays, there is dispute about granting freedom to children and that, to what extent they can be left free in their activities and decisions. Three approaches can be identified in this extent, which are leniency, authoritative, and Despotism. The present article intends to introduce these styles, considering the teachings of the Ahl Al-Bayt (as). In addition, it aims to resolve the contradiction of the empirical data of parenting styles in the category of freedom,  by presenting the realms of freedom based on the age and stage of development of the child. The research methodology of this work is based on  documentary and library method. The research findings show that each of the aforementioned  styles uses its own method of giving freedom in a consistent manner and, each of them presents contradictory empirical data to prove itself. While the style of parenting, which is inferred from the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt and the Prophetic biography, is a variable style in accordance with the age and state of the child. With the explanation that up to the age of seven, the style of parenting is leniency and from the age of seven to fourteen, the style of parenting is despotic, and from the third seven years and the beginning of puberty, with increasing freedom, the  authoritative style of parenting is realized. This variable and malleable model with respect to its degree of freedom at different ages, makes its own style of parenting.