First came the “helicopter parents.” But we worried the constant hovering made our children insecure. Then came the bulldozer parents seeking to remove any and all obstacles out of our child’s path. Turns out that wasn’t so great, either.
Then tiger parents pushed their children to be highly successful, while jellyfish parents were lenient and flexible. The so-called “crunchy moms” banned plastics and sugars from their homes, silky moms served their kids sugary drinks in plastic cups and scrunchy moms met them somewhere in the middle.
All while almond moms and Apple Watch dads focused on their wellness, Sharenters posted each and every moment of parenting online and Momfluencers made a profit from a well-placed sponsored post or two along the way.
Then came the age of gentle parents, but now some of us are realizing we’ve been, perhaps, too gentle.
So where, pray tell, does that leave modern parents now?
Lighthouses.
While parenting trends come and go, and the term “lighthouse parenting” has been in the lexicon for a few years now, it’s recently started gaining traction.
- What’s your preferred parenting style and how were you parented? Tell us about it in an email to ask@cbc.ca.
Lighthouse parents, according to Parents magazine, provide a stable source of guidance for their children — like a lighthouse — while also giving them the freedom to grow and learn. They are sturdy, reliable but not controlling, according to a recent piece in
