The Gentle Parenting Institute promotes peaceful, respectful, and nurturing relationships between parents and children, with a focus on supporting fellow parents in learning how to manage the behavior of themselves and their children through the use of behavioral science, knowledge of child development and appropriate expectations, and through methods/philosophies/practices such as Attachment Parenting, RIE, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and others.
Positive discipline techniques such as time-in, redirecting, and reinforcement of appropriate behavior, etc. are promoted and encouraged.
Discipline and parental techniques that are punitive are not promoted or encouraged.
These include:
- spanking, slapping, smacking, hitting, or any other means of physical discipline
- seclusion or traditional time-out
- threatening
- shaming
- any other technique that demeans and/or disrespects the child
Children do not learn to be respectful unless they are respected as the whole humans they are, complete with unique personalities, wants, needs, and desires. Respect for the child as she is today is of the utmost importance.