Parenting has always been an age-old topic of discussion. Why are my friend's parents nice and mine aren't? Or my parents are so laid back that I wish they would put a stop to my behavior sooner or later. Whether or not we think our parents are doing a great job of raising us, it's doubly difficult for them to find the perfect balance to make sure we see the value in their parenting and maybe even emulate them when we create our own families. .The statement “the grass is always greener” is the first that comes to mind when you are a parent. As parents, my wife and I often wonder if we are doing enough to teach our children values ​​and discipline without crossing the line into being authoritarian. Does being punitive automatically label us as authoritarian? How do we reconcile house rules between our children? In our case it is doubly difficult to have a child with autism and another child with typical development impose the same rules. We must always be astute and evaluate each individual situation for each of our children whether an action merits disciplinary action or are just typical developmental milestones. For example, there will be times when our son Nicholas, who has autism, will intentionally spill water on the floor. What antecedents contributed to the behavior? Is he being spiteful or was it a scene from a movie he was watching an hour earlier that triggered him? Sometimes it's difficult to assess a situation quickly enough to respond. The hardest decision would be: what would our response be? If we let it go and it is unjustified behavior, we risk giving positive reinforcement to the behavior. On the other hand, if it were as innocent as a form of echolalia, it would surely be wrong to scold the... middle of paper... and. The child may find himself questioning his decisions because he has always been the one who matters most to his parents' opinions and not theirs. There is no crystal ball when it comes to parenting. One of these styles or a combination of one, two or three with all the other factors such as personality, environment, way of life, presence of other family members in the family, inconsistency of each parent, traits of the child and maybe even characteristics of others siblings' personalities will be a determining factor in the ideal parenting style for each family context. That said, it is very healthy to involve our children in our daily decisions and opinions. Share our thoughts and be open to others' ideas or comments. It is the very nature of the relationship between parent and child that truly dictates the ideal parenting style.