"Gentle Parenting" doesn't Mean Being a Doormat

When parents are considering joining my membership program ParentAbility or when they join the Facebook community and start learning more about the discipline methods I teach, there’s always this lingering concern: Am I being strict enough? I know this concern generally comes from genuine care for their child/ren. We don’t want our kids growing up into little gremlins with no discipline and wrecking havoc across Targets, restaurants, and schools. We’re trying to raise them to be respectful, kind, and caring problem-solvers who are able to hear the word “no” without trying to swipe off all the toys on the shelf in retaliation. So the fear that “gentle parenting” is too soft on children and means you let kids do absolutely anything they want has snuck its way into parenting circles far and wide. The truth is that there’s a difference between being authoritative vs being an authoritarian. And this distinction is crucial when it comes to understanding positive and respectful discipline methods and techniques. This episode I’m going to share what the difference is between authoritative and authoritarian and how this applies to our parenting methods. And hopefully clear up the misconception that gentle parenting means you have to be a permissive doormat to the whims of your 3-year-old. You absolutely can still set boundaries and expectations with your child while still respecting them as individual human beings who are still growing and learning. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Wednesday at 1:30pm ET/ 12:30pm CT/ 10:30am PT on Facebook: facebook.com/arfamilyservices