Is 'Gentle Parenting' Too Extreme and Impossible?

Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled

JLML Press

Kids & Family, Parenting

4.7 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2022

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Janet shares an exchange she had with a parent who wonders how anyone can possibly live up to the extreme idealism of "gentle parenting." She writes: “It sounds so lovely… but it’s also crushing to never be able to live up to despite having all the tools and knowledge.” While "gentle parenting" is not a term Janet uses, she understands that it's a catch-all for recent discussions and news articles about parenting philosophies. In response, Janet shares her own mental and emotional struggles as a new mother striving for perfectionism as she tried to put Magda Gerber’s teachings into practice. She describes moments of frustration, feelings of failure and being judged, and how through her own experiences of self-doubt and criticism, she learned to give herself permission to be an imperfect parent in a process. Thanks to BetterHelp for sponsoring this episode. Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at www.BetterHelp.com/RESPECT. For more advice on common parenting issues, please check out Janet's best-selling books on Audible, FREE with a 30-day trial membership if you use this link: adbl.co/2OBVztZ. Paperbacks and e-books are also available at Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books. Janet's exclusive audio series "Sessions" is available for download. This is a collection of recorded one-on-one consultations with parents discussing their most immediate and pressing concerns (www.SessionsAudio.com). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Janet Lansbury. Welcome to Unruffold. Okay, so I admit I am a little more nervous
0:10.6	than usual about this podcast because I feel it's going to be maybe more personal and revealing
0:18.6	than what I normally share. The impetus for this episode came in a recent Facebook exchange
0:26.5	that I had with a parent and the parent concluded this ideal of gentle parenting is feeling more
0:33.8	and more toxic and gas-lady to me. So in response to her comment, I finally have the chance to ask a
0:41.8	question that I've been wishing to ask for a while now in light of this recent flurry of complaints
0:49.4	in the press about gentle parenting. Maybe you've noticed some of them. And then I really, really
0:55.2	appreciated this Facebook parents' candid response to my question. My question that was in response
1:01.0	to her comment. So I'm going to be sharing these exchanges and some of the thoughts that they've
1:06.3	brought up for me. I really hope you'll find this clarifying and encouraging. But first, I want to
1:14.0	share a message sponsored by BetterHelp. You know, I'm always promoting self-care, which between kids
1:20.2	and work and everything else life can throw at us, I realize isn't necessarily easy. We're always
1:27.2	the last ones we think about, right? But there are times in all our lives when ignoring and just
1:33.2	powering through or stuffing a personal issue really doesn't make sense. It doesn't solve anything
1:39.6	and in fact it's counterproductive. I've used an online therapist from time to time to help me
1:45.0	sort through personal issues. My husband has two. So I can attest first hand to the benefits.
1:51.4	Whatever issues you're dealing with and we all have issues, stress, anxiety, depression,
1:56.6	relationships, trauma, BetterHelp will match you with a licensed accredited board-certified
2:03.3	therapist in less than 48 hours. You can schedule weekly video or phone sessions or even live chat.
2:11.2	And you can send messages to your therapist between sessions. If your initial therapist doesn't
2:16.0	feel like a good fit for any reason, it happens. No problem. It's simple and free to switch to another.
2:22.5	BetterHelp offers professional, private, online therapy that's convenient, and it's absolutely
	...

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