Re: Parenting gently as Christians
People I know who are against gentle parenting have a very limited view of what it is and don't really understand the philosophy. They also tend to be people who believe 'the culture' (American culture, presumably) is going downhill and becoming ungodly, and this fits their preconceptions. They latch on to half an idea that sounds crazy to them and use it as a rhetorical device. For example, they will listen to a parenting expert trying to say that we should use positive instructions instead of negative (gentle hands rather than don't hit) because little children's brains can't process negatives as easily. Rather than being able or willing to try to comprehend, they'll rant about how crazy it is that now we are supposed to be positive all the time and never tell our kids no, and how it's a sign of the crazy, woke, ungodly times we're living in. I haven't found there's much point in trying to help them understand gentle parenting, since it's not really about parenting at all.
However, I have had some influence with some younger parents by encouraging them. I try to help them trust God more and be less anxious, angry, and reactive through gentle, loving, commiserative words of encouragement. They are mostly not ready to fully embrace gentle parenting, but they become more open to hearing about things like age-appropriate expectations.
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Karen
Wifey to the Husby 9/6/2006
Mama to The Littlest Man in all the Land 5/31/2012
and The Littlest Girl in all the World 1/28/2016
Counseling is like cleaning out your fridge. Mostly it's rearranging things so they make more sense. Now and then you come across some really nasty thing that's been stuck in the back way too long.
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