Gentle Parenting: Through an Islamic Perspective

Parenting styles and methods come and go. One year, the time-out method was the go-to method for disciplining children, the next year, it was deemed ineffective. One year, praising children for their effort seems to be the best way to build their confidence, the next year, it was seen as actually eroding their self-esteem. Theories and practices created by man are never perfect and sometimes contradict each other, so which ones do we follow?

Gentle parenting is different – it is not a label for a fixed set of rules and theories but a method of parenting that embraces the needs of parent and child. It means parenting with empathy and respect, but at the same time, it also teaches the child boundaries.

When we read through stories of the prophets in the Quran and their interaction with their own children, and stories from accounts of the Prophet’s companions who…