From the Principal's Desk
Where Permissive Parenting Originates
Pre-modern Era
One could say that permissive parenting began with Satan and within the heart of man (Jas 1:14). In Scripture we see that Eli exemplifies wrong parenting practices long before modernity. But within Western Civilization, most scholars agree that two men were key contributors to permissive parenting: John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
During the Enlightenment, the English philosopher John Locke reasoned that children are born as empty slates, without original sin. Consequently, they can be shaped to reject sinful vices and display strong character by their education. Man becomes who he is, good or evil, useful or no, by his education. Furthermore, Locke wrote that children can be shaped by verbal approval and disapproval, without physical punishment.
The other pillar of permissiveness, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, wrote in Emile: or On Education (1762) that children should be taught to reason and that they can learn right and wrong by experiencing the consequences of their decisions rather than by receiving physical punishment.
Well over three hundred years ago men promoted a model of parenting that contradicts the Bible. Their views of child training stem from their views of man. The argument Locke and Rousseau espoused is this: if man is basically good, then the wrong that he does must stem from his environment, not his depraved heart. Therefore, controlling the environment should be the focus, not transforming the individual. Their process approves gently guiding the child away from evil vices toward making wholesome choices.
Modern Era
The 19th century in America brought in much thought that rejected traditional values from the previous century. The major influence was transcendentalism. This philosophy, foundational to Unitarianism and taught in northern universities (e.g. Harvard), holds that both man and nature are inherently good. Authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne played major roles in shaping the way people in America thought about themselves.
In the late 19th century Sigmund Freud popularized stages of child development with his physcoanalysis theories. Focusing on emotional factors and personality development, Freud taught that the urges and actions of children represent natural stages in their development. Freud emphasized the importance of feelings and said that the more pleasant a child’s environment, the better he will turn out.
Post-modern Era
The Industrial Revolution took its toll on the American family as the father spent less time at home and the mother took on more responsibilities in parenting. In the context of WWII, the pendulum of parenting practices swung from lax before the war to strict after the war. After WWII mothers continued to take a more prominent role in child training than fathers, a trend that continues to this day. Generally speaking, mothers tend to be protective of their children, opting for less harsh methods of correction.
Following the war American psychologist Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote The Common Sense Book on Baby and Child Care (1946). He urged parents to trust their own common sense. He taught that parents should not pick their toddlers up every time they cry and that infants should be put on a reasonable feeding schedule rather than feeding on demand. He also urged parents to discipline their children with words, not physical punishment. The book was a best-seller: 500,000 copies sold in the first six month; 30 million copies after 30 years.
A way of thinking that spawned during the Enlightenment finally took wide-spread hold in the 20th century, to the extent that the generation raised in permissiveness led the upheaval of the 1960s. The question-authority, “Me” era had arrived. Our society has degenerated in tandem with our parenting. If the process could be boiled down to one statement, we have arrived at our modern permissive parenting practices by replacing the Bible with man’s thinking.
Where Permissive Parenting Originates
Pre-modern Era
One could say that permissive parenting began with Satan and within the heart of man (Jas 1:14). In Scripture we see that Eli exemplifies wrong parenting practices long before modernity. But within Western Civilization, most scholars agree that two men were key contributors to permissive parenting: John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
During the Enlightenment, the English philosopher John Locke reasoned that children are born as empty slates, without original sin. Consequently, they can be shaped to reject sinful vices and display strong character by their education. Man becomes who he is, good or evil, useful or no, by his education. Furthermore, Locke wrote that children can be shaped by verbal approval and disapproval, without physical punishment.
The other pillar of permissiveness, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, wrote in Emile: or On Education (1762) that children should be taught to reason and that they can learn right and wrong by experiencing the consequences of their decisions rather than by receiving physical punishment.
Well over three hundred years ago men promoted a model of parenting that contradicts the Bible. Their views of child training stem from their views of man. The argument Locke and Rousseau espoused is this: if man is basically good, then the wrong that he does must stem from his environment, not his depraved heart. Therefore, controlling the environment should be the focus, not transforming the individual. Their process approves gently guiding the child away from evil vices toward making wholesome choices.
Modern Era
The 19th century in America brought in much thought that rejected traditional values from the previous century. The major influence was transcendentalism. This philosophy, foundational to Unitarianism and taught in northern universities (e.g. Harvard), holds that both man and nature are inherently good. Authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne played major roles in shaping the way people in America thought about themselves.
In the late 19th century Sigmund Freud popularized stages of child development with his physcoanalysis theories. Focusing on emotional factors and personality development, Freud taught that the urges and actions of children represent natural stages in their development. Freud emphasized the importance of feelings and said that the more pleasant a child’s environment, the better he will turn out.
Post-modern Era
The Industrial Revolution took its toll on the American family as the father spent less time at home and the mother took on more responsibilities in parenting. In the context of WWII, the pendulum of parenting practices swung from lax before the war to strict after the war. After WWII mothers continued to take a more prominent role in child training than fathers, a trend that continues to this day. Generally speaking, mothers tend to be protective of their children, opting for less harsh methods of correction.
Following the war American psychologist Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote The Common Sense Book on Baby and Child Care (1946). He urged parents to trust their own common sense. He taught that parents should not pick their toddlers up every time they cry and that infants should be put on a reasonable feeding schedule rather than feeding on demand. He also urged parents to discipline their children with words, not physical punishment. The book was a best-seller: 500,000 copies sold in the first six month; 30 million copies after 30 years.
A way of thinking that spawned during the Enlightenment finally took wide-spread hold in the 20th century, to the extent that the generation raised in permissiveness led the upheaval of the 1960s. The question-authority, “Me” era had arrived. Our society has degenerated in tandem with our parenting. If the process could be boiled down to one statement, we have arrived at our modern permissive parenting practices by replacing the Bible with man’s thinking.