A mother and father who let their kids do anything they want have opened up about their controversial parenting style.
34-year-old Gemma and Lewis Rawnsley are parents from Hebden Bridge, England, who don’t go by the book when it comes to raising their children.
While giving more freedom to children as they’re growing up is common when it comes to parents of newer generations, Gemma and Lewis took this matter to the next step by allowing their seven kids to do almost anything they want.
As the proud parents explained, their kids can skip school and don’t get punished for swearing or playing with dangerous tools. They also have the freedom to get their hair dyed or choose the tattoos and piercings they want.
In a household where the word ‘no’ is not commonly used, the seven kids may choose their own bedtimes, whereas Gemma insists her parenting methods allow her kids to have a happy life.
“It’s about letting them make decisions, it’s not a feckless attitude where we sit back and let it all happen. It looks like we’re feral, but that’s just one side of us. Feral is left to your own devices, but these kids are brought up to the nth degree,” the mother says.
“I didn’t have a stable upbringing. My mission has been about helping my kids have the most interesting, fun and happy lives in a house filled with the love I never had.”
While Gemma admitted that some decisions may seem dangerous, she insists that the “risk attached” helps her kids learn responsibility.
At the same time, she wants her kids to decide what they want to do with their days on their own when they wake up so that they can enjoy childhood to the fullest before facing real-life obstacles of adulthood.
“We just wing it and go with the flow. If the weather is good we sack it off and go out for the day, if it’s raining then it’s a good day to stay in and do stuff. There are no boundaries so the kids get on with life and do what they want,” Gemma explained.
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