There are many different styles of parenting for adults around the world. These styles can be generalized into 4 categories. Authoritative parents set guidelines with their children but are caring and understanding. Authoritarian parents set strict rules and are unsympathetic towards their children. Permissive parents give their children lots of freedom and little discipline. Lastly, uninvolved parents put little to no effort into caring for their children. The uninvolved parenting style is clearly depicted through Patrick Star in season 3, episode 9 of Spongebob Squarepants, “Rock-a-Bye Bivalve.” In this episode, Spongebob and Patrick find an abandoned baby scallop, so they decide to raise the scallop themselves. Spongebob assumes the role of a mother, staying at home and doing work around the house.…show more content… Throughout the episode, Spongebob is the only one actually taking care of the scallop and the house, while Patrick only eats, works, and watches television. Towards the end of the episode, Spongebob confronts Patrick to find out that his work consists of eating ice cream and donuts while watching shows. Spongebob then shows Patrick the incredible amount of diapers that he has had to change, and Patrick realizes his mistakes and he apologizes for the way he has been acting as a father. Patrick’s poor showing of care and affection towards the baby scallop is a prime example of uninvolved parenting. During most of his time as a father, Patrick showed no effort in caring for the baby scallop. Although he was away most of the time working, he would never give the scallop any attention when he was home. The only thing he ever did was change the scallop’s diaper once. This is a direct example of uninvolved parenting. Spongebob, on the other hand, has a much more involved parenting style. He worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of their house and their
