Would Libertarian parenting deem that if the kid doesn’t want to eat, that I should let him go hungry so he can learn his lesson?
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Libertarian Parenting
Would Libertarian parenting deem that if the kid doesn’t want to eat, that I should let him go hungry so he can learn his lesson?
6 replies on “Libertarian Parenting”
I’m not sure about that one, but its a funny thought!
I think kids would eat eventually if the parents made punishment-free food available and waited. The only time the kid would starve is if the incentive not to change his mind about eating became greater through some act of the parents. Otherwise said kid would eventually do the natural thing and eat when he was hungry enough.
Fun to ponder… the economics of a tantrum!
Well, yes, but a libertarian parent wouldn’t be thinking in terms of ‘teaching a lesson’ with food. In my opinion, a libertarian parent would be making food available to hir child at all times, since it is the parents’ responsibility to help hir child have food to eat when said child is hungry. Kids generally don’t need a whole lotta advice about eating; they know when they are hungry and when they are not – at least, as long as they haven’t been messed around with, being ‘taught lessons’ and such (food coercion)
Yeah! Help kids get what they want, and help them to learn about what it is right to want. Check out http://www.takingchildrenseriously.com if you want to know more about what libertarian parents might think and do. :)
“Teaching a lesson” was said with tongue in cheek. I don’t parent that way. But I thank you for commenting and am reading about TCS.
What about things like media access, cell phones, etc.? Do Libertarian parents restrict what movies their kids can watch, restrict their Internet and read their kids’ text messages?
Good question. I’m not sure. I, for one, am rather liberal with what I let my child watch on TV but I have my doubts about that.