Rarest Kind of Best

Here’s an article on the times news website about the 1970s trend of “permissive parenting” and how it was all wrong.

A pretty black and white commentary, not much depth to it, but thought-provoking. I definitely think it’s not such an either/or proposition, every parent tailors their parenting strategies to the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the individual child. The real concern is when a parent (or pundit) buys into one or another ideology 100% and takes it full steam ahead, refusing to temper it with doubt or amendment – damn the torpedoes!

The bigger issue re. “Thoughts and ideas have been replaced by feelings” is how this has happened in the adult sphere beyond parenting… self-help mania, reality tv, celebrity obsession, personality journalism, popularity contest elections… Children grow up mirroring adult society, not solely by reacting to how their parents treat them.

Still, useful to contemplate. Self-esteem is good, but empathy is better. And the ability to control and manage one’s emotions is a vital skill that needs to be learned.