When Parents Are Too Permissive

Too-Permissive Parents: 5 Signs Skip to content Enter Search Keywords. Use the arrow keys to navigate suggestions. Health A-Z

Common Conditions

View All ADD/ADHD Allergies Arthritis Cancer Cold, Flu & Cough Depression Diabetes Eye Health Heart Disease Heartburn/GERD Pain Management Sexual Conditions Skin Problems Sleep Disorders

Featured Topics

Identifying Bugs and Their Bites Bothered by Yeast Infections? The Worst Shoes for Your Feet WebMD Symptom Checker Health concern on your mind?

See what your medical symptoms could mean, and learn about possible conditions.

Learn More

Resources

WebMD Expert Blogs: Read expert views and commentary on popular health topics. WebMD Communities: Connect with people like you, and get expert guidance on living a healthy life. WebMD Physician Directory: Find a doctor in your area.

WebMD Pain Coach

Track your pain levels, triggers, and treatments. Set goals and get tips with our app for iPhone. Drugs & Supplements

Find Information About:

Drugs & Supplements

Get information and reviews on prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements. Search by name or medical condition.

Find or Review a Drug Find or Review a Vitamin or Supplement Find Drug Coupons Drug Basics & Safety

Commonly Abused Drugs What's Your Medication IQ? Food, Medical Product & Cosmetic Safety WebMD Pill Identifier Having trouble identifying your pills?

Enter the shape, color, or imprint of your prescription or OTC drug. Our pill identification tool will display pictures that you can compare to your pill.

Learn More

Drug News

Get the Latest Drug Approvals & Alerts Find FDA Consumer Updates Sign up to receive WebMD's award-winning content delivered to your inbox. FDA Approves Diet Pill Belviq FDA Delays Decision on Blood Thinner Eliquis

WebMD Mobile Drug Information App

Drug, supplement, and vitamin information on the go. Living Healthy

Featured Content

Want luxurious locks?

WebMD cuts through the hype to reveal the best kept secrets for healthy hair.

Living Healthy at a Glance

Living Healthy Centers

View All Diet, Food & Fitness

Weight Loss & Diet Plans Food & Recipes Fitness & Exercise Beauty, Balance & Love

Healthy Beauty Health & Balance Sex & Relationships Oral Care Living Well

Women's Health Men's Health Aging Well Teens

Featured Topics

BMI Calculator: Get Personalized Results Portion Size Plate: Easy Serving Size Guide Your Birth Control Options 19 Secrets Men Wish Women Knew Quiz: Weird, Crazy Dreams Food & Fitness Planner: Personalize Your Weight Loss Plan

WebMD the Magazine App

Get every issue of WebMD the Magazine with a free subscription for your iPad. Family & Pregnancy

Featured Content

Traveling abroad?

Protect yourself and your family by learning which health precautions and vaccines are advised for your destination.

Family & Pregnancy at a Glance

Family and Pregnancy Centers

Pregnancy Trying to Conceive First Trimester Second Trimester Third Trimester Parenting Newborn & Baby Children's Health Children's Vaccines Raising Fit Kids Mom's Guide to Winter Family Health Pets Healthy Cats Healthy Dogs

Featured Topics

Know the Signs of Early Pregnancy? Test Your Smarts: What's Safe to Eat When You're Pregnant? Peek Inside the Womb to See How Baby Grows Healthy School Lunches Quiz: Know How to Avoid The Next Toddler Meltdown? WebMD Vaccine Tracker: Manage Vaccinations for Your Entire Family

WebMD Baby App

Get parenting tips, track schedules, and create a mobile baby book. News & Experts

News

View All Today's Top Health Headlines Get the Latest Drug Approvals & Alerts Find FDA Consumer Updates On The Road Again: FDA Mobile Laboratories Sign up to receive WebMD's award-winning content delivered to your inbox.

WebMD Health Experts and Community

Talk to health experts and other people like you in WebMD's Communities. It's a safe forum where you can create or participate in support groups and discussions about health topics that interest you.

WebMD Experts & Blogs

Read expert views and commentary on popular health topics. WebMD Communities

Connect with people like you, and get expert guidance on living a healthy life. WebMD Answers

Got a health question? Get answers provided by leading organizations, doctors, and experts.

Get Answers

WebMD Newsletters

Sign up to receive WebMD's award-winning content delivered to your inbox. My WebMD Sign In, Sign Up

My WebMD Sign In

Please enter email address

Enter your password

Keep me signed in on this computer Show more Information If you select "Keep me signed in on this computer", every time you visit WebMD.com you won't have to type your email address and password. This means that a cookie will stay on your computer even when you exit or close your browser which may reduce your levels of privacy and security. You should never select this option if you're using a publicly accessible computer, or if you're sharing a computer with others. Even if you select this option there are some features of our site that still require you to log in for privacy reasons.

Forget your password? Having trouble signing in?

Why should I
sign up for WebMD?

With a WebMD Account you can:

Track your way to weight loss success Manage your family's vaccinations Join the conversation See more benefits Sign Up Why WebMD? My WebMD Show Menu My Tools My WebMD Pages My Account Sign Out FacebookTwitterPinterest WebMD Home Health & Parenting Center Health & Parenting Feature Stories Email a FriendPrint Article Health & Parenting Parenting EssentialsTeens: Parenting MistakesWays to Stop BedwettingIs She Really Too Sick for School?Help for Tummy Troubles in Kids Hearing Loss in ChildrenIs There an ADHD Diet? Font Size A A A 5 Signs of Pushover Parents ByLisa Fields
WebMD Feature Reviewed byHansa D. Bhargava, MD

You might think that too-permissive parents are the ones whose kids have no rules, no curfews, no dress code, and no manners. True, but they're not the only ones.

You may be surprised that some of your habits could put you into the "pushover" or permissive parent category, according to experts, even if you think that you're doing everything right with your tweens and teens.

"Many parents today misunderstand their role," says parenting expert Leonard Sax, MD, PhD, a family doctor in Chester County, PA, and author of Girls on the Edge and Boys Adrift. "They often see their role as making sure the son or daughter gets into a top college and protecting the son or daughter from disappointment. They are there, providing the safety net in situations where it might be wiser to let the kid experience the consequences."

Here are five common ways that parents become too permissive, plus how and why you should change your ways.

1. No Routines or Limits

For many parents, life can get too hectic to follow through on their parenting plans, especially if it will take some work to get the kids on board. After a while, their family's lack of routine can result in lazy, spoiled teens or tweens without schedules and responsibilities.

"Everybody knows that they should have rules, routines, habits and socializations," says Laura Kastner, PhD, author of Getting to Calm: Cool-Headed Strategies for Parenting Tweens and Teens, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "But for busy parents, when they finally get home, they don't want to turn their family time into acrimony."

Like it or not, the only way to change the situation is to become less permissive, setting limits for the family.

"If you say, 'We're now going to have bedtime,' the kids will really push back," Kastner says. "You have to be calm, absolutely resolute, and not cave."

If you're married or living with your partner, they have to be on board. "You want your spouse to be on the point as much as possible, because kids will go after the weaker partner," Kastner says. "Once you get past the first two weeks, you're probably on your way."

1 | 2 | 3 Next Page > #url_reference {display: none};#url_reference { display: block; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 10px; }#logo_rdr img { visibility: visible; }.titleBar_rdr .titleBarMiddle_fmt { padding-top: 1.5em !important;} Top Picks Bedtime Routines to Keep Kids Dry All Night Why Kids Whine and How to Stop Them How to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthier When to Tell Your Kids About Sex 7 Tips for Keeping Your Child's Teeth Healthy Assess Your Pet's Health Related to Parenting & Children’s Health Help for Your Child’s Eczema How Is ADHD Affecting Your Life? Help for Tummy Troubles in Kids The Facts: Kids’ Oral Health Children’s Vision Screening 9 Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep Health & Parenting Home News Reference Videos Videos Community Questions and Answers Glossary Health & Parenting Guide 1 Baby 2 Toddler 3 Preschooler 4 Grade Schooler 5 Tween 6 Teen See what others are asking about

Visit WebMD Answers

Related to Parenting Baby Development Baby Nutrition Bottle Feeding Breastfeeding Family Health Guide Teen Drug Abuse of Cough Medicine Teen Health More Related Topics Top 12 Issues 1. Children's Sleep 2. Sibling Rivalry 3. Fighting Flu 4. Parenting Tweens 5. Healthy Eating 6. HPV Vaccine 7. Kid Hearing Loss 8. Preschooler Milestones 9. ADHD Symptoms 10. Food Allergies 11. Discipline Tips 12. Potty Training 13. Emotional Development Living Healthy Centers Baby & Newborn Balance Children's Health Fitness Food & Recipes Healthy Beauty Pet Health Pregnancy Raising Fit Kids Sex & Relationships Teen Health Women's Health More Family & Parenting This Week on Make a Cheese Tortilla Snack! How Santa Stays So Jolly and Fit Is a Broken Heart Real? Today in Parenting Slideshow Does Birth Order Matter? Article Is Dirt Good for Kids?   Article Got Tantrums? Talk Like a Toddler Slideshow 10 Steps to Fast, Easy Cleaning   Tool Girls and Puberty: Had the Talk? Slideshow The Dirtiest Places Kids Will Find   Slideshow Home Remedies for Cold and Flu Video What to Look for in a Pediatric Dentist   Article How Adult Vaccines Help Protect Kids fitSlideshow Show Your Children How Special They Are   Quiz Is It a Cold or the Flu? Slideshow What Are the Symptoms of ADHD?   Subscribe to WebMD Newsletters

WebMD Daily Women's Health Men's Health Weight Loss Wisdom I have read and agree to WebMD's Privacy Policy. Submit Sign up for more topics! WebMD Special Sections Top Questions About Family Health How Mom Can Stop Germs Health Solutions From Our Sponsors Vaccine Questions? Low Testosterone? Diabetes Care for Kids Birth Control for Moms Blood Sugar Control Advanced Prostate Cancer? Diagnosed With Low T? Fibromyalgia & Exercise Hearing Aid Alternative Insulin Pump Therapy Vaccines for All Ages Knee Pain Relief Depression & Adults Treating Fibromyalgia Relapsing MS Community In-depth coverage: Psoriasis Treatment on Target?|Healthy Mouth Help|RA Assessment|Living Healthy Guide|Family & Pregnancy Toolbox|Check Your Heartburn Symptoms Find us on:URAC: Accredited Health Web SiteHonCode: Health on the Net FoundationAdChoicesAbout WebMD Advertise With Us Terms of Use Privacy Policy Sponsor Policy Site Map Careers Contact UsMedscape Reference eMedicineHealth RxList Medscape MedicineNet BootsWebMD WebMD CorporateMedical Dictionary-->First Aid WebMD Magazine WebMD Health Record WebMD Mobile Newsletters Dictionary Physician Directory

©2005-2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.

View the Original article