Atticus Finch has a different style of parenting than most. He allows his children to give their side of the story. He doesn't take one person's side without hearing what the other has to say. This is probably due to the fact that he is a lawyer. He understands how you have to reason with people and know the whole situation.

There is a part in the book where Scout is caught punching her cousin Francis. Because Scout has a history of violence, Uncle Jack assumed is was all Scout's fault. At first, he didn't take the time to see what provoked Scout to hit Francis.

Scout confronted her Uncle Jack by saying, "You ain't fair, you ain't fair....You're real nice, Uncle Jack, an' I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don't understand children much."

Uncle Jack then said, " And why do I not understand children, Miss Jean Louise? Such conduct as yours required little understanding. It was obstreperous, disorderly, and abusive-"

Scout interrupted her Uncle Jack and said, "You gonna give me a chance to tell you? I don't mean to sass you, I'm just tryin' to tell you... Well, in the first place you never stopped to gimme a chance to tell you my side of it- you just lit right into me. When Jem an' I fuss Atticus doesn't ever just listen to Jem's side of it, he hears mine too, an' in the second place you told me never to use words like that except in extreme provocation, and Francis provocated me enough to knock his block off-"

Most people, in this book and in reality don't actually take the time to hear multiple sides of the story to further understand the situation. Atticus is a role model. Because Atticus treats his children as his equal, they respect him more than most children respect their parents.