GENTLY DOES IT

Rather than tough love, gentle parenting is a new approach some moms and dads swear by

- JANICE BECKETT-MSIZA

IT FEELS as if every few years a new parenting style makes headlines, each with its own set of staunch supporters and stern critics. Tiger moms and heli­ copter parenting dominated for de­ cades – but these days there’s a new style on many a millennial parents’ lips.

Gentle parenting is creating buzz among younger parents on social media. It’s gaining traction among moms and dads who want to raise their kids in a dif­ferent way to the often-authoritarian way in which they were brought up.

Older generations – grandparents es­pecially – may feel young parents are simply pandering to their kids and don’t want to discipline them. But gentle parenting isn’t about being lax with authority, those who practise it say. It’s presenting it in a different way and ac­ knowledging your child’s emotions, treating them with empathy and respect, and leading by example.

They’ve seen the benefits of this parenting style, say S’phindile and Nicolas Garcer, who initially tried a more “old­school” approach with their two ­year old son, Omari.

“Omari is outspoken with what he wants to do and doesn’t want to do,” S’phindile (31) tells YOU. “Last year we were a bit hard on him because we wanted to teach him right from wrong, so we started gently spanking him on the hand or bottom when he did something wrong.”

Omari started fighting a lot at school and S’phindile noticed that whenever she spanked her son he’d hit back or push her away. She and Nicolas (36) decided to stop spanking him and to send him to a “naughty corner” instead.