“Take it or Leave it Parenting”
“Take it or leave it Parenting” is the parenting style I aspire to use more often. No need to google this parenting style because this is not a parenting style researched and documented in some family psychology journal. This is a parenting style I discovered doing some self-reflection as I found myself using the “Take it or Else” style of parenting too often.
“Take it or Else Parenting” is when you force your kids to listen to you or face consequences. “Take it or Leave it Parenting” is when you provide advice, and leave it up to your child to choose whether or not they want to listen to you or not.
I aspire to use “Take it or Leave it Parenting” more often because I’ve come to realize that “Take it or Else Parenting” is not sustainable. As your children grow into their teen years, the more often you force them to do things, the more they will rebel to assert their independence.
It’s better to give them choices when they are young, and let them make as many bad choices as they want when the stakes aren’t high. Then use those bad choices to help them grow as decision makers.