1. Parenting With Discipline
Strict father models resemble the fathers of "Leave It to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." The motto could easily be "Self-sacrifice and discipline is the best way of life." A strict rule of right and wrong with no deviation guides the strict father model. Mothers have the day-to-day job of running the house but the father is the breadwinner and doles out both praise and discipline for all family members.
2. Birth of a Conservative
Strict father models tend to produce children who are conservative in nature. Dramatic social change is not a virtue in this type of role model, and neither is independent thinking. A crying baby receives no coddling but is left to cry himself to sleep and a hungry child gets no change in her scheduled feeding. The child receives a punishment for any transgression and only gets praise for adhering to the rules.
3. The Strict Father Model and Abortion
The strict father model feels that the outside world has many evils to fight. Internal evil in the nature of desires are just as dangerous to the family unit and child. There is little room for pleasure unless it comes in the form of self-sacrifice and discipline. Abortion is a moral issue that the strict father model sees as unthinkable. The first reason is that the concept of abortion itself is wrong for the strict father model. The second involves the doling out of punishment. Those unwed teenagers who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy are immoral in the first place and must pay the consequences.
4. The Mother in a Strict Model Father Family
The mother in a strict father model family is subordinate to the father. Though she gets to make decisions like which margarine to buy, the father has the final say. Praise and disappointment from the father figure affect the mother just as they do the child. Feminism is not encouraged and a strict father in the workplace seldom sees a female candidate as a viable choice for a managerial position
5. Merge the Nurturant Parent Model and the Strict Father Model
Most psychologists agree that families benefit from some of the beliefs of the strict father model. The problem, as with any model for parents, is that there must be adjustments for differences in children and human compassion. Neither the strict father model nor its opposite, the nurturant parent model, is ideal when going by the book. Each one needs something from the other side. Discipline is necessary even in the most permissive of homes and love and support needs to accompany discipline and morality.
