Permissiveness is the principle of treating children as if they were adults; and the tactic of making sure they never reach that stage.
When children are small, parents should run their lives and not the other way around.
I probably have an earlier curfew than anyone. My mom wants to keep me really safe and my dad's not overly protective, but he's a dad no matter what.
Frequently parents forget that children are people. I don't try to treat Kristen as an adult, but I do try to treat her as a person, with a child's sensibilities.
In the '60s, parents were told to let their teens rebel, explore their boundaries. Increasingly the same message is being given to the parents of tweens.
I can talk to my dad like he's my manager, and put 'Dad' on the back burner. We've been doing it since I was 13.
You treat a kid with respect and as an adult you talk to them as if they're smart people. But you don't throw at them the trappings of adulthood and you know, the darker stuff.
Don't bother discussing sex with small children. They rarely have anything to add.
