What Is Gentle Parenting?

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Gentle parenting is an evidence-based approach to raising happy, confident children. This parenting style is composed of four main elements: empathy, respect, understanding, and boundaries.
Those who practice gentle parenting encourage working together as a family to teach their children to express their feelings, but in a socially acceptable, age-appropriate manner. Gentle parenting is viewed as a beneficial method for raising happy, independent, and confident children.
It teaches children to do what is good by using positivity and patience, rather than fear or punishment.

• It's about bonding with their kid.
  At its core, gentle parenting is about the bond a parent makes with their kid. Gentle parenting is also sometimes referred to as attachment parenting or positive discipline, and its focus is on the parent-child relationship as key to helping children develop internal self-control and the ability to regulate emotions and behaviors. In practice it looks like parents spending time talking with children about options, feelings, and challenges—as opposed to imposing rigid expectations or consequences.
  
  
•  Being mindful of the way you use praise.
  "Using praise as a motivator certainly works for kids sometimes," says Pressman. "But you want to be careful that you're not overpraising them in an attempt to build confidence, as it undermines their confidence. Kids learn to think that they need outside validation to feel good about themselves, or they feel the need to always get praise." 
  
  
• Respect.
  Respecting your child as an adult is another key characteristic of gentle parenting. Usually parents feel the needs to set rules and demands – telling a child what to do and what not to do. However, the gentle parenting requires respect to be earned through parents respecting their child’s feelings and personalities, and over time a child will learn to respect their parent.
  
  
• Boundaries.
  There is a myth that gentle parenting is the same as permissive parenting – allowing children to get away with anything. However, boundaries play a crucial role. Boundaries are not about endless lists of rules or regulations – rather boundaries are about teaching children a better way of doing things.
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• Gentle Parenting is staying calm.
  When a behavior is triggering you, you are their guide: What do they need? What are they expressing? Are they annoying you? Ask yourself why. Are they slamming the table with their hands? Ask to hold them. Are they throwing a ball in the living room like they want to be Michael Jordan? Ask them to kick it like Beckham. Do they not want you to speak over them while they are crying? Wait it out and be present with them. Do they need a hug and pressure on their arms to regulate? Did you explain why you don’t want them to do something? Did you refrain from screaming or saying NO without explaining? There’s so many little things that we can do that are very nurturing and also set clear boundaries.​

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Kids can also benefit from interacting with others while learning new skills, or creating new social networks, like those at Forever Gymnastics! To learn more , click here.