You have to navigate an almost endless list of uncertainties when raising a child, and it’s hard to figure out the best approach to parenting. At one end of the spectrum, you’ve got so-called helicopter parents, who micromanage every aspect of their children’s lives, and at the other end parents who are so hands-off that some label them as lazy.

Maybe sometimes they are lazy. But in other cases, letting kids learn from their mistakes is an intentional choice rather than pure laziness. You might think that stepping back means kisd are more likely to get into trouble. But that’s not necessarily the case. The idea is to scale back constant parental involvement to help kids develop their own skills, problem-solving abilities, and independence. After all, if parents swoop in to solve every issue, how can children ever figure out how to manage on their own?

Couldn’t such an approach be seen as negligent? How does one become a “lazy” parent? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here :

⁠Why are we having children later and later?⁠

⁠Why do children have imaginary friends?⁠

⁠What causes tocophobia, the fear of pregnancy and childbirth?⁠

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First Broadcast: 29/1/2025

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