Where Gentle Parenting has Lost the Plot (a convo with Avital Schreiber Levy)

Gentle Parenting has become a sort of parenting movement over the last decade or so. 

I’ve been here for more than a hot minute and it’s interesting what I’ve noticed. You see, before Gentle there was Conscious Parenting and before that there was Love and Logic and and and. 

I think the original founders of these methods were probably drinking the same koolaid I like…we secretly want to raise our kids even better than our parents did. We want our kids to feel loved and enjoyed. We don’t want them to act like selfish creepos. We want them to become besties with their siblings and to have their backs. 

Of course, much fancier more formal lingo is typically used in the “parenting space”. And I think that’s a big part of the problem. Somewhere with all of these lofty movements, parents have become performative.  

Gentle Parenting has been twisted. The parents that come to work with me lately are more permissive than I’ve ever seen and more unpack-leader-y too.  They have lost their voice, their power and their family life seems tense and frankly, miserable. 

I believe it’s often a case of gentle parenting gone wrong. 

My guest this week is Avital Schreiber Levy. She’s a mom, author, parenting coach, and designer who knows how to navigate the traps that well-meaning moms and dads end up falling into. 

Avital pulls no punches as we dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of current Gentle Parenting trends, and why feelings are important, but they can’t be the only thing guiding your child’s behavior. But it’s not all trash talk. She’s got real, practical alternatives and strategies you can use to give your family the Pack Leadership it deserves, with confidence, and without yelling or excessive guilt.

As always, thanks for listening. Head over to Facebook, where you can join my free group Mastermind Parenting Community. We post tips and tools and do pop-up Live conversations where I do extra teaching and coaching to support you in helping your strong-willed children so that they can FEEL better and DO better. If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it!

Get all the links, resources, and transcripts here: https://mastermindparenting.com/podcast-324

About Randi Rubenstein

Randi Rubenstein coaches parents raising strong-willed kids. Randi searched endlessly to find the magical resource that would help her own highly sensitive, strong-willed child. (He’s now 26, healthy and happy-ish:). She’s been passionate about helping other “cycle-breaker”  parents like herself for almost two decades.

Randi’s Web and Social Links

• Website: https://mastermindparenting.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermindparenting
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_parenting/

About Avital Schreiber Levy

Avital Schreiber Levy is the founder of Hi Fam and the author of Reclaim Play. She helps intentional mothers break free from modern parenting traps and build strong, values-driven families that feel peaceful, connected, and confident. Avital has helped over 100,000 parents in 100+ countries through her courses, YouTube channel, and live events. She’s a mother of five, and known for blending timeless wisdom with real-world tools that actually work.

Avital’s Web and Social Links

Website: www.hifam.com 

YouTube: @HiFamLife

Instagram: @HiFamLife

Resources Discussed/Links

Our 12-week Basics Bootcamp program is now available as a 100% online self-study course! https://mastermindparenting.com/minimasters/

Live assessment: https://mastermindparenting.com/live-assessment/

The Coddling Of the American Mind, by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt https://www.thecoddling.com/ 

The Karpman Drama Triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle 

Waking The Tiger by Dr. Peter Levine: https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Tiger-Healing-Peter-Levine/dp/155643233X