This article discusses the influence of Puritanism, Romanticism, and Rationalism on parenting styles in the United States, outlining the basic tenets of these philosophical movements and how the authors believe these tenets relate to popular notions of parenting. The doctrine that humankind is of an evil nature is seen to be a fundamental tenet of faith for the Puritan family; and the moral aspect of a child's personality is seen to occupy all the parent's attention. This view is heard in such phrases as "You are a bad boy." Rationalism can be characterized by an assumption that life and the universe are rational and there is a solution to every problem. Parents are seen to insist on academic skills and book learning and regard reason as the one significant human characteristic. Romantics have held the view that all people are to allow the child to find its inner voice untrammeled by the institutions of society. Romanticism emphasizes feeling and recognizes no finite limits to a child's capacities or to the parents' patience. Romanticism, however, sets no criteria for achievement of an adequate or livable human response. (Author/MS)