As someone who’s neither a parent nor an expert, I’ve still watched countless videos observing various parenting trends and advice, inspired by my hope of one day becoming a mother and raising a family. While every parent’s approach is unique because no two children are the same, I’ve noticed a common theme in the new parenting styles. In particular, I believe there is one style of parenting that has a negative impact on Generation Alpha. It is pretty easy to tell that this new generation of kids are disobedient and often ignore the authority of teachers and their parents. They throw enormous tantrums and take stuff out of people’s hands at Sephora. Some even have a huge amount of screen time that is unhealthy for their age, and they become inhuman when their iPads are taken away. Once people realize this new generation shift, they quickly judge Millennials for how they are raising their children, mainly because of their passive and less tolerant parenting, and to be fairly honest, I couldn’t agree more. Modern-age parents often refer to this new approach as “gentle parenting.” A new parenting style developed from millennial parents who were against their stricter and less tolerable Gen X and Boomer parents. Gentle parenting is all about empathy and respect, and some branches involve a “collaborative style” or “making the voices of kids heard.” Even according to parent.com, a website known for giving advice on parenthood, calls gentle parenting a “democratic method.” And though it sounds good for some people, we must consider that the world does not always go your way. Parenting can involve democratic elements, but it often results in a household that feels chaotic. The system of government in the United States, at least in theory, depends on the government’s consent. Why is that compared to taking care of a kid? Does it mean they can reject their 2-week grounding when they do something bad or even throw me out of office when they feel like it? I have seen many parents who are misled by this. Kids overall should not make decisions for themselves. Their brains are still developing, and that is the reason why they need guidance to teach them in the first place. No parent should feel ashamed of being commanding and perhaps a bit demanding, but hopefully, it does not get to the point where you have to demand such things as obedience and respect after your kids turn five years of age. I would re-consider the choices of your parent style if it got to that point. What we misunderstand is the wrong definition of actual gentle parenting, which implies not reacting hostile when kids make mistakes and instead focusing on teaching. You can still be firm with misbehavior, but we have misunderstood it for a long time. I understand that you do not want your kids to hate you, and please don’t reach too extreme points. All I am saying is that they should not see you as an equal but rather as an individual with mentors, and trust me, in the long run, once they become older, they would understand why certain things were not allowed, as a former kid myself I do understand why my parents do certain things plus I am still learning on some stuff as well. Kids from a really young age should get used to not everything going their way because the disappointment from them is just going to get challenging to endure. We are seeing the long-term effects of teachers quitting their jobs because of child behavior in classrooms. Daniel Buck, in his article, Teachers Are Fed Up with No-Consequences Discipline, published by the Fordham Institute, highlights a 2023 survey of superintendents; 81% noted that student behavior had worsened since the pandemic, surpassing academic concerns. Parenting is hard, and there is no specific way you should raise a child exactly. I believe that every parenting technique can be good for different situations. At its heart, I do not hate gentle parenting as it has its good points, but the way it is being portrayed is that there is a lack of guidance and no set of boundaries. Ultimately, parenting is about finding the balance that works for your family, combining love, guidance, and boundaries to raise well-rounded, resilient children.