By HeatherBanks

For anyone who has ever heard the phrase, less is more, that is at the heart of raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style. Less, meaning the physical guidance given to the children being raised, and more, meaning the physical learning the child must accomplish in order to progress through life.

Laissez-Faire can be associated with a "laid back" type of attitude. But, raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style does not mean sitting by and allowing your child to do what they want, when they want to. It is about stepping out of the limelight and offering knowledge to the child in order to allow them to make an educated decision on their own as opposed to deciding everything for them.

No bottle weaning. When choosing the path of raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, there will be no weaning from the bottle. Instead, the parent will introduce options to the baby and teach them how to use these options with the sole intention of the child choosing one of the options over the bottle. A straw is the perfect choice in this case. Children love straws and once they learn how to use them, they will no longer want to deal with that slow moving bottle.

Potty training. Potty training is another very big mountain to climb with baby. When raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, potty training is less about making the baby sit on the potty and more about showing the baby how to use the potty. Raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style takes a more open mind about bathroom usage, but works wonders by giving the deciding choice back to the child.

No influencing decisions. One of the main things a parent raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style can do is to allow the child to choose the paths of life for themselves. When asked a question that requires a decision on the child's part, the parent must offer knowledge about all of the choices but decide none. If the child is stuck choosing between soccer, volleyball and ballet, offer real knowledge about each and them leave the decision in the court of the child.

Mistakes are alright too. Mistakes are gong to happen and raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style does not change that. Children who make mistakes will learn from those mistakes and that is how they grow into the adults they once become.

To choose raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style means to choose the ideals that physical parenting is less likely to help a child than parenting through guidance. The guidance allowed with raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style will show the child the right paths of life and growth.

For those who choose the more traditional parenting route, life will turn out just fine. For those who chose raising children with the laissez-faire parenting style, there will be hills and valleys, but the gift of raising an independent child are priceless.