A decade of ‘gentle parenting’ crumbles as mom realizes she created an anxious, entitled nightmare

Jaclyn Williams, a mom who dedicated ten years to the “gentle parenting” movement, recently went viral after realizing she’d accidentally created an entitled and anxious nightmare. Williams shared her confession in an Instagram reel on November 10, 2025, explaining that her effort to ditch harsh discipline slowly spiraled into permissive parenting. I think this is a huge wake-up call for anyone trying this approach because it shows how easy it is to lose sight of the necessary guardrails.

Williams’ post resonated because she admitted the painful truth: her children were showing signs of insecurity, anxiety, and entitlement. She realized she needed to make a big change to fix the situation. She decided to pivot toward what she calls “authoritative parenting.” This style still uses connection, validation, and empathy, which is crucial for emotional development, but it pairs them with serious structure. That means clear boundaries, consistent limits, and natural consequences.

Williams detailed a few specific pitfalls that I think many parents fall into. She admitted that she allowed her kids to “overprocess” their feelings, sometimes indulging them for up to twenty minutes of intense emotional validation, per Daily Dot. While validation is good, that length of time is definitely excessive.

Gentle parenting is not as proven as other methods

Williams also made the mistake of over-explaining boundaries, which led her children to believe that absolutely everything was up for negotiation. Finally, she allowed too many compromises and failed to teach her kids about real-world limits. That’s a tough lesson to learn later on, and it’s awful for a child’s long-term independence.

By implementing structure while still maintaining respect and empathy for her children, Williams reported seeing quick improvements in their behavior and overall development. She reassured her followers that these errors are common, stating, “A lot of parents do this. There’s no shame or guilt allowed here, parenting is HARD!”

The community response to Williams’ reel highlights a massive misunderstanding about the technique. Many commenters were quick to point out that Williams wasn’t practicing the method correctly; she was actually practicing permissive parenting because she lost track of boundaries and consequences. However, it’s hard to believe parents about their kids when they do some strange things.

According to Brown University, the method emphasizes respect, communication, and empathy. The core idea is that the parent acts as an understanding teacher who guides the child, fostering a strong connection. Gentle parenting prioritizes strong boundaries and appropriate developmental expectations.

Crucially, it replaces managing behavior with punishment or rewards. Still, this is a therapist who has seen the effects firsthand, so maybe it’s better if we become more aware than take a bad route like abandoning the kid emotionally.