What Are Marshmallow Parents?

In recent times, many types of parents have been described, because we can honestly recognize that we all raise in our own way. Since there is no manual for parenting, everyone does their best. Also, we usually end up contradicting everything we said we wouldn’t do as parents.

Among the types of parents that have been discovered are the so-called “marshmallow parents.” This designation is attributed to parents who raise their children without placing limits on their actions. Everyone is free to raise their children as they decide; however, in some cases mistakes can be made.

Being overly condescending and permissive with children can make us marshmallow parents. Claudia Sotelo, director of the Center for Specialization in Childhood Psychological Studies, explains what it is about.

Marshmallow parent characteristics

Marshmallow parents there are many in this day and age. They are usually those who work a lot, and their income allows them to give too many things to their children. According to what was indicated by the expert, other characteristics are the following:

• They are usually between the ages of 30 and 45
• They come from a home whose education was rigorous
• One or both parents are soft and sweet (like marshmallows)
• They are generally professionals and workers
• They do not set rules and tend to discipline their children very little
• They have hyper-gifted children
• They stop fostering habits in the little ones
• They do not tolerate their children’s failures, but they tend to blame someone else for them.
• Marshmallow parents are unaware that this type of education puts their children’s future at risk.

“A marshmallow father, be it the mother, the father or both, is a father who is soft as a bonbon, sweet with the children, because he does not have clear limits. It does not represent an authority figure for the child and it is difficult for them to establish habits or even to enforce habits ”

– Claudia Sotelo-

Without realizing it, these types of parents harm their children in many ways. When they breed, they only think about seeing them happy, making up for them and pleasing them without hesitation. However, many times these decisions can have consequences on children’s behavior.

Exposing our weakness or inability to set limits can cause the child not to live reality. At home, his parents indulge him in everything, but the real world is different. Therefore, although what we want is the good for them, we may be making a serious mistake.

How does education without limits affect children?

The good intention of the marshmallow parents is indisputable. Commonly, these come from very strict homes, where their parents reprimanded them just by looking at them. So they want to change that terrifying pattern, so their children don’t go through the same thing.

Unfortunately, certain extremes can have undesirable consequences. Among the main effects, we can observe the following:

• Children raised under these terms tend to have little tolerance for frustration. This means that if their wishes are not fulfilled, they can throw tantrums and get into a confrontation with anyone. This attitude results in problems with their parents, teachers, friends and family

• They are unable to solve problems on their own, since their parents do everything for them
• In adolescence, their behavior can get out of control. According to the expert, the children of marshmallow parents are more likely to fall into addictions

“You have to pay attention: if from three to eight years the tantrum is their form of communication, we are already talking about a red light”

– Claudia Sotelo-

• Have difficulty accepting and following rules
• They can suffer from disorders related to eating and / or sleep, because their parents allow them to sleep at the time they want to eat or not if they wish. Other habits can also be affected, such as hygiene, for example

• They learn little about hierarchy, so they do not usually respect the elders, because their parents always put themselves on the same level
• Children of marshmallow parents know their parents’ weaknesses; they generally perceive that their parents are afraid of their anger. In this sense, children often emotionally manipulate adults
• They are not educated to face reality, which is why they can fail in various aspects of life
• Most of the problems generated by the behavior of these children are not only experienced at home. In this sense, it is known that living with other people tends to compromise
• They have difficulty working in groups, which hurts their school performance.