permissive parenting style, and each has its own impact on children’s development. One parenting style, called permissive parenting, is characterized by parents who are warm and emotionally responsive to their kids but don’t provide much in the way of structure or discipline. They give kids the freedom to regulate their own behavior and choices, allowing them to make their own decisions.

The Pros and Cons of Permissive Parenting: Finding Balance

Parental permissiveness has some positive aspects, such as parental warmth and emotional responsiveness, which are important for a child’s well-being. However, when parents don’t set clear expectations for their children or enforce consequences for misbehavior, they can become overly indulgent and allow their children to have unsupervised free rein over their lives. This type of permissiveness can lead to kids with poor self-regulation, lack of time management skills, and low levels of achievement. Children raised by permissive parents also may have problems with peer relationships and academic performance.

Parents who are very permissive can be overly lax about some things, such as their kids’ tidiness and the kinds of food they eat. They may also have trouble imposing boundaries around activities like screen time and sleep schedules. These families may not be teaching their children how to be responsible or set limits on themselves, and they can also be at a higher risk for unhealthy eating habits, over-indulging in alcohol or drugs, and other health issues. In addition, they can miss out on teaching their kids that it’s necessary to respect authority figures.