Under: Parenting, Ask the Child Therapist/By: Natasha Daniels

Is permissive parenting bad?

In this week’s episode of Ask the Child Therapist, I am answering the question, “Is permissive parenting bad?” There are many different parenting styles. I talk about what constitutes a permissive parenting style and what impact it has on children. Is it just uninvolved parenting or does it go deeper than that?

Ironically, many parents who have this parenting style are extremely caring and nurturing. They are just parents who struggle with setting firm boundaries and limits.

This can happen for many reasons. There is strong push back to not have an authoritarian parenting style [What is authoritarian parenting? Click here to find out]. In so doing, the pendulum has swung wildly in the opposite direction.

Parents are afraid to set limits, disappoint their children and lay out clear boundaries. Unfortunately this can sometimes turn into an ineffective parenting style.

Children are not told “no” and they are not given boundaries. Great parents are fearful of disappointing their children and making their children “unhappy.”

Unfortunately good parenting requires us to sometimes disappoint our children. Good parenting sometimes requires us to make our children mad. To strive to never rock the boat is essentially parenting with your arms tied behind your back.

Check out these permissive parenting examples so you can assess your own parenting style.

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What style of parenting do you have? What are your thoughts on this type of parenting? Leave a comment below. Do you know someone who could benefit from this article? Share it with them!