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ANALYSIS: GENTLE PARENTING CAN BE DIFFICULT ON PARENTS, NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS

- The Conversation

• But does it really mean no yelling? No punishment?

Are you a gentle parent? If so, chances are good that, just like your children, you may need a nap. The idea of gentle parenting has been around since the 1930s but received increased attention over the past few years in the media.

Despite its growing popularity, what remains unclear is what, exactly, this parenting style entails. Parenting author and self-described "gentle parenting" founder Sarah Ockwell-Smith has described gentle parenting as "a way of being" and a "mindset", with an emphasis on your child's feelings.

But does it mean no yelling? No punishment? How is it different from other established approaches to parenting?

To explore what this gentle parenting movement is all about, my fellow family studies professor Alice Davidson and I gathered data from over 100 parents across the country with at least one child between the ages of two and seven.

We asked these parents to tell us how they reared their kids, how they were reared by their own parents and how they respond when their child misbehaves. We also asked if they identified as a "gentle parent". For those who saw themselves as "gentle parents", we asked them: What do you mean?

An internet phenomenon