Talk:Dolphin parenting

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Student is currently working on the article as part of a course. She has some sources which may demonstrate notability and obtaining more. There is a book written on the subject: Kang, Shimi K. The Dolphin Way: A Parent's Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy, and Motivated Kids-Without Turning into a Tiger. , 2014. and well as an article from Time; http://time.com/94653/a-case-for-parenting-the-dolphin-not-tiger-mom-way/  KatieBU (talk) 12:52, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Dolphin parenting is a style of parenting coined by Shimi Kang in her book The Dolphin Way. This style of parenting is called Dolphin Parenting in response to the playful, social and intelligent mannerisms of dolphins. Dolphin parenting focuses on raising children in a balanced style, meaning not too strict while also still having rules, and being supportive but not overprotective. According to Shang, dolphin parenting is based on “maintaining balance in their children’s lives to gently yet authoritatively guide them toward lasting health, happiness, and success”.

This style of parenting is beneficial for children because it allows them to grow and learn on their own. By giving children their own space and not hovering over their every move, children are able to formulate decisions on their own, and learn from those decisions if they make a mistake. This allows children to gain intellectual skills on their own. Dolphin parenting also allows children to develop greater social skills overtime. Dolphin parents allow their kids to have a balance between work and play, and this lets children learn social skills through the time they spend together. Children also gain increased self confidence and self motivation through this type of parenting.

Shimi Kang believes that balance is essential for raising children to find success on all aspects of life. In her book, she says, “A lack of balance is now plaguing the everyday lives of our children. If our children spend too much time being protected, they wont learn how to protect themselves. If our children spend too much time working at a desk and not enough time living in the real world, they wont learn how to balance work and real life in adulthood. If our children spend too much time studying or practicing and not enough time resting and unwinding, they’ll have a hard time being able to relax. If our children are given too much instruction and not enough time to problem solve on their own, they’ll have a hard time facing and solving their own problems. Children who grow up imbalanced wont even know what balance feels like.”

Dolphin parenting is also regularly compared to tiger parenting as well as jellyfish parenting. Tiger parenting is a style of parenting invented by Amy Chua and focuses on pushing children through very strict rules to ultimately reach high levels of achievement. Instead of incorporating balance into parenting, tiger parenting follows a harsh regimen and only participates in activities that will further propel their kids academia. On the other side of the spectrum, jellyfish parenting lacks rules and expectations, which allows children to pursue any activities without consequences. Children of jellyfish parenting are more likely to be involved in risky behavior due to their permissive parents and lack of authoritative figures.

Shimi Kang is an award winning, Harvard trained doctor, and author of The Dolphin Way. Kang is the Medical Director for Child and Youth Mental Health for Vancouver community, the founder of the Provincial Youth Concurrent Disorders Program at BC Children’s Hospital, and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. She is a mother of three and has a passion for promoting health information, which led to her writing her book, The Dolphin Way.