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Parental Approaches

Updated: Jul 9, 2020




Beyond the application of respective philosophies, there are practical approaches each given parent is naturally inclined to follow. It may or may not be tailored to a particular philosophy as every parent has an approach, though not every couple has a clearly established strategy.


Each should at some point recognize what their approach is, and how their spouse/partners differ. Then, I offer, each parent should determine how the respective approach will affect two key aspects – what is the extreme worst-case scenario (for your child) that you try to avoid, and what is the best case that you pray would be realized. With or without a strategy (preferably with), the approaches should enable associated avoidance and realization.


My personal approach with respect to worst-case was a “left and right” limit as a barometer for when to invest a high level of parental energy. So as long as they didn’t brush up against (or make strides towards) the deemed worst-case areas (relative to sex, drugs, alcohol, abuse and the law), I tempered how stressed I was/how aggressively I eng