Gentle parenting is disappearing and is being proven to be a bad way to raise children

Over the last decade, gentle parenting emerged as a compassionate alternative to authoritarian parenting.

It encourages calm communication, emotional validation, and cooperation instead of punishment.

But as time has passed, many parents have grown disillusioned.

What looked great on paper has turned into chaos in practice.

Gentle parenting is disappearing and is being proven to be a bad way to raise children.

At Maps for Life, educator and founder Renée Marazon has been addressing this shift head-on through her proven Leadership Parenting® method, a structured, realistic, and respectful approach that’s helping families everywhere reclaim peace at home.

Why gentle parenting is disappearing from today’s households

Gentle parenting promised something parents desperately wanted: peace and cooperation without conflict.

However, the reality for many families is the opposite.

Children are anxious, reactive, and demanding.

Parents feel unsure, exhausted, and overwhelmed.

Why?

Because gentle parenting often removes what children need most: clear leadership.

According to Renée Marazon, when adults refuse to lead, children feel unsafe.

They don’t know who’s in charge.

And this lack of structure fuels emotional and behavioral chaos.

Gentle parenting has led to:

• Endless negotiations and explanations

• Parents walking on eggshells

• Children are testing limits more, not less

• Families without consistent rules or consequences

The results speak for themselves, and they’re not good.

Gentle parenting is disappearing because it lacks structure and long-term results

As the method has spread, so have the problems.

Many parents report they’re doing everything “right” according to gentle parenting, avoiding punishments, validating feelings, and offering choices behavior is getting worse.

They feel like they’re failing, even while following the model exactly.

That’s because, as Maps for Life explains, empathy alone is not enough.

Leadership, structure, and consequences are essential for healthy development.

Without those elements, children flounder.

And so do parents.

Parents are starting to realize that gentle parenting is disappearing and is being proven to be a bad way to raise children because it creates dependency, confusion, and a lack of respect for authority.

Gentle parenting is being proven to be a bad way to raise children. Here’s what works instead

In contrast, the Leadership Parenting® model from Maps for Life provides what gentle parenting often lacks: order, clarity, and calm authority.

It’s not about controlling children through fear; it’s about guiding them with strength, consistency, and integrity.

Key principles of Leadership Parenting

Lead with calm, firm authority

• Set and enforce consistent rules

• Respond to misbehavior with natural consequences

• Model emotional regulation instead of just talking about it

• Balance empathy with leadership, never one without the other

Children thrive under this model because they feel safe.

They know their parents are in charge.

They no longer have to guess what’s allowed or push boundaries to find out.

When gentle parenting disappears, healthy structure returns to the family

Many families who move away from gentle parenting discover something remarkable:

Their homes become more peaceful, not less.

When boundaries are clear, children feel secure.

When parents stop over-explaining and start leading, kids stop resisting.

This doesn’t mean yelling or punishing.

It means acting with confidence and clarity, exactly what kids crave.

Parents who adopt Leadership Parenting experience:

• Fewer power struggles

• Improved emotional resilience in their children

• Less parental guilt and burnout

• More mutual respect in the home

The result is a household that feels calmer, more predictable, and more connected, the very things gentle parenting was supposed to create, but often didn’t.

Gentle parenting is disappearing because it doesn't prepare kids for the real world

One of the harshest criticisms of gentle parenting is that it doesn’t equip children to function in real life.

Life has rules.

It has limits, consequences, and expectations.

If children grow up believing every emotion must be validated and every rule is negotiable, they struggle later in school, work, and relationships.

Renée Marazon emphasizes that preparing children for the real world means teaching them to handle disappointment, regulate their impulses, and respect boundaries.

This starts at home with leadership, not permissiveness.

To support this approach from a faith-based lens, Maps for Life has developed resources like The Catholic Handbook for Parenting, which aligns Leadership Parenting with Catholic teachings and values.

You can also explore Intentional Catholic Parenting, a program designed to help Catholic families raise children with both love and discipline.

Ready to move past gentle parenting and lead your family with strength and love?

Gentle parenting is disappearing and is being proven to be a bad way to raise children, and more families are waking up to that reality.

You don’t have to choose between being loving and being firm.

With Leadership Parenting®, you can be both.

You can raise children who are respectful, secure, and emotionally healthy without sacrificing your authority as a parent.

 Contact us today to learn more, ask questions, or schedule a consultation.

 We’re here to support you as you lead your family with confidence and clarity.