Episode 19 - Gentle Parenting

Today’s disagreement is about Gentle Parenting.

Gentle parenting can be seen as a movement and generational push-back against the parenting styles that Gen-Xers and Millennials grew up with. 

Here’s now Jessica Winter describes it in The New Yorker:

…Gentle parenting centers on acknowledging a child’s feelings and the motivations behind challenging behavior…The gentle parent holds firm boundaries, gives a child choices instead of orders, and eschews rewards, punishments, and threats—no sticker charts, no time-outs, no “I will turn this car around right now.”

In this episode, we use “Gentle Parenting” as a stand-in for the entire constellation of modern parenting brands: Peaceful, Respectful, Mindful, Intentional, Conscious, Compassionate, Sturdy…

While there are some small differences between each method, they all generally follow the core “gentle” tenets.

The Guests

“The younger kids are, we have to be a little bit more involved…” - Ryan Allen

Ryan Allen is a licensed child therapist and gentle parenting expert and influencer. He specializes in helping “little kids with big emotions.” He’s a bit of a social media phenom, with 1M followers on TikTok.

Lori Gotlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author. Her book, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, has sold more than a million copies. She also co-hosts the podcast “Dear Therapists” and writes The Atlantic’s “Dear Therapist” advice column.

The Questions

• How should parents help kids regulate their emotions? 

• What is the right role for punishments and consequences?

• And…what is the happy medium between “Because I said so!” and Lord of the Flies?

Mentions

• Lori Gottlieb’s 2011 Article in the Atlantic: “How to Land Your Kid in Therapy”

• Dr. Becky, Founder of Good Inside and ‘Millennial Parenting Whisperer’

• Janet Lansbury’s ‘No Bad Kids’ Method

And last but not least, what did you think about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com. You can also DM us on Instagram @thedisagreementhq.

Xoxo,

The Disagreement Team

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