Why Permissive Parenting Can Have Catastrophic Consequences On Children

Some parents believe that permissive parenting is the best approach to raising kids. This parenting style treats a child's tantrum or misbehavior with niceness, often doing away with punishment or lecture.

A permissive parent instead talks to the child and sees him like a "friend." But experts say that doing so can have catastrophic consequences.

Studies have revealed that kids who grow up under a permissive parenting style could have high self-esteem and initiative, but also poor self-control or destructive activities when they reach their teens or young adulthood, according to Parenting Science. Parents using this approach might be teaching their children kindness and politeness by avoiding harsh discipline methods.

Permissive parents, however, can be lax about rules with other things. Thus, the child doesn't develop any boundaries.

Children whose parents are permissive might learn to make their own choices, but some lessons in discipline and responsibility could be overlooked in this case. As The Guardian puts it in a letter addressed to permissive parents, having a gentle, kind, caring and understanding parenting style is good except that parents still need to be in control or else the consequences could be irreversible. "One day your wild, spoilt toddler will be an angry, unsocialized teenager," the letter cites. "By then it'll be too late."

My friend's mom allowed her to drink in the house and often buys her alcohol, this is an example of permissive parenting @TA_amberj #hdfs129

— Maddie (@MadisonHart_) December 9, 2016

Permissive parents usually compromise with their children and compromises are great for keeping harmony in any relationship. But some parents seem to forget that this approach could rob their children of the important lesson that some rules are there to benefit them and provide them a structure that will affect their approach to life as adults.

Apart from discipline issues, permissive parenting brings catastrophic consequences on children because they won't be able to learn to handle disappointments and rejection. If a parent constantly protects the child from seemingly uncomfortable situations, they won't be able to develop skills to help them handle risks and conflicts. As a result, a child could grow up with low emotional quotient, according to Aha Parenting.