It’s over 4.5yrs since my last post and I’ve been gentle parenting throughout, so I feel pretty qualified to tackle any questions about whether gentle parenting works long term! But first, a little a bit about where I’ve been and why there have been no blogs since April 2019…!

Lucy at Home: 4 years from then to now

My girls are now 12 and 9. (I still can’t believe I have high-schooler!)

I have been working as a Digital Marketing Manager in the charity sector since May 2019. My role includes creating social media content, website management, working with influencers, and paid digital advertising.

Currently, the charity I am working for supports new parents and their babies. I love that I get to use my expertise to provide advice and information to families, as that’s always been my passion. It’s why Lucy At Home was created!

Now, back to gentle parenting…

Does gentle parenting work long term?

Like any parent, I have had to adapt as my children have grown. We have had to evolve some things to ensure that gentle parenting works long term and that it still works for us as a family.

However, though we may have moved on from the nursery days and we don’t have themed activity weeks in the school holidays anymore, the principles of gentle parenting stay the same.

I still:

• speak to them as equals
• spend a lot of time putting myself in their shoes and showing empathy
• make sure I’m readily available and I listen with kindness when they need me

And I can confirm that gentle parenting works long term!

The gentle parenting experiment

Lots of people were cynical about my choice to go with a gentle parenting approach. Half said my kids would become wild and naughty, the other half said they’d be too mollycoddled and end up really wimpy.

I can happily report that neither came true!

My kids are kind-hearted, thoughtful, and respectful to others, because that’s always how they’ve been treated themselves. They are loyal in their friendships, encouraging with their words, and successful in school. They are also brave and try things out of their comfort zone, because they know they have a secure foundation to return to. My parenting aim has never been to produce well-behaved kids, but rather to produce kind, happy, well-adjusted humans who can be successful in life.

I’m not saying we don’t have tough days (those teenage hormones are definitely kicking in!) but they are good kids, and I am so proud of them! I don’t say this to show off, but to reassure you that gentle parenting works long term if you are consistent in your approach.

Next time

So that’s the end of my mini update. I hope to post some more blogs in the coming weeks and months to share how gentle parenting works with tweens and teens but for now, thanks for reading and it’s good to be back.

Love Lucy xx