At the birth of a first child, there will be many decisions made about parenting. For some, those decisions will involve bedroom patterns, baby's first outfit home and the best bottles to use for feeding. For other parents, however, the parenting style will weigh more heavily on the mind than any other decision. One path available to the parent is by raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style. This parenting style allows for a step back from traditional parenting and a step toward an independent child.



Laissez-Faire can be associated with a "laid back" type of attitude. But, raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style does not mean sitting by and allowing your child to do what they want, when they want to. It is about stepping out of the limelight and offering knowledge to the child in order to allow them to make an educated decision on their own as opposed to deciding everything for them.

Bottle weaning. Bottle weaning is left to the child when raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style. The key is to introduce a method of drinking that does not include the bottle. A straw can be a great choice. Kids love straws and once they learn to use one, they will no longer want to suck their drink from a bottle.

Potty training. Potty training is another very big mountain to climb with baby. When raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, potty training is less about making the baby sit on the potty and more about showing the baby how to use the potty. Raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style takes a more open mind about bathroom usage, but works wonders by giving the deciding choice back to the child.

Leave decision to the child. Children have the innate ability to want to be like their parents. When raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, parents are trying to teach their children to be only like themselves. This includes making all decisions on their own. A parent can surely educate the child while raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, but the final decision making needs to be the child's choice.

Mistakes are okay. Children are going to make mistakes and that is what raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style is all about. Mistakes are what change us, mold us and teach us about life and how the decisions we make affect us later.

There may be struggles and difficulties for the parent raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style. Not because of the parenting style itself, but more because of the traditional values instilled in us all throughout life. Laissez-faire does not mean lazy, it means a dedication to teaching a child through life experiences while allowing them to walk freely on their own.

Stepping back from the more traditional parenting styles and into raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style is a big step. Take each day head on and try your best to stay objective. No one said raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style was going to be easy and no one said the laid back attitude was going to benefit the parent.