Parenting Styles

Parenting Styles Explained

Helicopter Parenting (or Cosseting Parenting)
These parents pay close attention their child's experiences and problems and intervene if/when they see fit. Critics say helicopter parents are overprotective or too involved.

Attachment Parenting
This is the style of parenting that follows the theory that a secure, trusting attachment to parents during early childhood (and beyond) results in secure and independent adults. Bed sharing and baby wearing are both big parts of attachment parenting.

Baby-Led Parenting
These parents keep their baby close at all times, feed on demand, and co sleep. However, the main principle of this style, coined by Dr. Benjamin Spock, is that baby is boss. Parents look for baby to decide what she needs next rather than creating a schedule for feedings, rest, or play.

Natural Parenting
Natural parents have the desire to live and parent responsively and consciously. Natural parents are eco-friendly, holistic, and known for gentle methods of discipline.

Tiger Parenting (or Chinese Parenting)
These parents are known for being being strict and for putting their children's academic careers before anything else.

Free-Range Parenting (or Slow Parenting)
This philosophy believes that instead of planned or organized activities, children should simply be allowed to explore the world at their own pace.

Serenity Parenting
Serenity parenting emphasizes that a child's nature is more prominent than nurture.  They use the wise words of the Serenity Prayer to accept the things they cannot change about their child.

Doing the Best You Can Parenting
My personal favourite. This is the type of parenting that most of us try to follow. Sure, we borrow here and there from Attachment, Natural, and Baby-led. We wish we did more Serenity and Free-range. And there certainly are those times where we get all Helicopter and Tiger on our kids. But mainly we're just doing the best we can.