What’s Your ‘Parenting’ Type?

Joined at the Hip
The Attachment parent is one who emphasizes extreme closeness between mother and child, especially in the younger years. Attachment parents co-sleep, wear their baby/toddler constantly and definitely breastfeed. “Parents also emphasize role modeling and positive discipline by using praise and rewards for good behavior and loss of privileges for poor behavior.”

The antidote to attachment parenting is to be separate from your child. It’s important for your child to have a life separate from you—and it’s important for you to have a life apart from your child.

A Swimming Chance
A Dolphin parent is one who seeks balance, flexibility and collaboration between parent and child. On the surface, this sounds great, right? After all, who doesn’t want a balanced child? But the danger in dolphin parenting lies in fact that kids, even teens, need more guidance and leadership from parents.

The antidote to dolphin parenting is being the leader your child needs, even when it’s not popular with your kid.

I hope you’ve seen the pattern here in my antidotes to most of these parenting styles—it’s to recognize that while parents have an important part in raising their children, a large part of what we’re called to do is to step back and let the child do the hard work. The more involved we become in our children’s lives, the more unhealthy our relationship with our kids become.

So repeat after me: Parenting does not produce the child. The child produces the child.

To connect with me and read more about raising kids, visit my NEW website at www.sarahhamaker.com.