The rise of permissive parenting, and how to take a gentle but biblical approach

Kate Orson invites Christian parents to consider the connections they are or could be making with their children and how that will impact behaviour

Anecdotal evidence suggests that parenting is becoming more permissive with parents reacting against authoritarian styles of the past and wanting to take a gentler approach. However, studies have found that children raised permissively have higher rates of school misconduct and lower levels of academic achievement. So, what can parents do to find the middle ground? What if you don’t want to resort to smacking or other kinds of punishment?

Many Christians say that gentle parenting is not biblical, and allowing a child to continue to engage in sinful behaviour without stopping them certainly isn’t. However, done right, gentle parenting can actually be more effective than traditional approaches. So, what is gentle parenting? I would define it as any type of parenting that manages behaviour without using punishment or reward. It’s a connection-based approach.

Humans are connection-seeking creatures. We are built to seek connection with God, and with each other. If you’re the parent of a young child you’ll know that ……