Liberal parenting: How far should it go?

rockin' mom- when teens are young no, they should not be allowed to sleep at each other's houses. but i think you're wrong in telling your daughter just NO, tell her why no! tell her what could happen if something happens, not to scare her but for her to better understand what you're reasoning is. Kids listen to their parents, they do. but they dont when all you say is NO NO NO. they will rebel and do EVERYTHING you tell them not to! again, teens will do what they will do whether its in your home or not. give them the tools like condoms and birth control by the time they are 16-18 so you dont have to be a grandmother before you're ready! but i absolutely agree that sarah palin IS a bad parent.
Ms.Birkeland- i was absolutely referring to your post. when you have "does liberal parenting go to far?" as your title with a picture of sarah palin, her baby and her pregnant daughter, you are referring to her, or at least her parenting as "liberal". i also respectfully disagree that what your topic is is somehow "liberal parenting", no it isn't. laissez faire, yes. i dont think socially liberal parents condone unprotected, baby-makin' teen sex, cause mine sure dont!.
to both rockin' mom and Ms.Birkeland- just to put my two sense into perspective: I am just a few months shy of my 21st birthday. i lost my virginity at 14 yrs old, which i am not proud of. However, i have managed to have sex for the last 6 years with condoms and for last 3 years on birth control. i have no STIs and i dont have a child, nor have i ever been pregnant. my parents never let my boyfrends sleep over when i was in middle/high school, and my 2 best guy friends, one of which came out a few years ago, had to sleep in another area away from me if they did stay the night. when i was 17 and he was 20 i met the man i will hopefully soon marry. he is in the military and stationed overseas, i see him every 6-10 months for 2 weeks at a time. i am very close with my parents and so is he and he is allowed to sleep with me, in my bed, doors closed if we choose. we have sex, my parents know but i dont tell them about it and they don't want to hear it. we are respectful enough not to do anything in front of my parents and we keep the noise down while we are intimate. i grew up in a liberal household where nothing had to be kept secret, i wasnt condemned for my feelings or actions and i knew i could tell my mom and dad almost anything. i am in my 3rd year of college, a straight A student of the sciences and i like to have sex with my boyfriend with no kids and no diseases, and my parents are okay with it. i believe, as most other people have said here, you need to trust your kids and give them the tools and the information they need to make the right choices. you can only raise them so well and instill such values. I think Sarah Palin is a bad parent because she did not give her daughter birth control or tell Mr. Johnston about condoms. and if she did know they were having sex and STILL didnt throw away her bullshit "conservative", psycho, right-wing principles, then shame on her. as far as the palin family goes, thank god Bristol understands that abstinence is unrealistic. it is unnatural for humans to suppress their biological given, NOT god given sexual urges, we just have to let them do it responsibly!

Who cares what her sister in law did?

There are certain limits to parenting teenagers in regards to personal freedom. For one instance they need to learn to do things without their parents holding their hand so they can become independent. On the flipside their parents need to make sure their not doing something which can ruin their future. I suppose parents taking a laissez-faire approach to their social life in regards to friendships is one way you do not hold their hand. Of course you also need to make sure the same friends are not of, shall we say, questionable character.
Now with sleep-overs of opposite gender (meaning boyfriend and girlfriend) we might have certain situations it is necessary (ie they live far away) but to be honest their is no logical reason why they should share a bed.

To me, what is more important (and I admit I am not a parent nor ever plan on being one) is how your child respects and sees you as the parent. I think I was raised in a semi liberal environment and my parents never told me you can't smoke, drink have sex etc. As a result I never abused any of those things. Also, when I was 19 and still living at home and seeing a 28 year old man my mother KNEW I was having sex, but what was she going to do? I wasn't doing it in their home. I think at certain ages (ie 16 and up) you have to let kids grow up and be responsible for the consequences of their sexual choices whether you agree with them or not. You have to have faith in and trust your kid. Maybe that's naive, but it's just what I think.

it becomes our business when a teen has a baby and it is our tax dollars that either pay for the abortion, or the welfare benefits of that choice.
I do believe teaching teens to wait until marriage, however, this teaching comes at a very early age...telling them they deserve the best, their virginity is their wedding gift, an open honest dialog is very important. a boyfriend spending the night - no! most parents are afraid of their kids. so they give in. oh and the stupidity of "let them be safe in my home doing (whatever) is unreal.
If your child can not support themselves, live outside the home with a stable job, money in the bank etc...what makes any parent think that they are ready for sleep over or encouraging a sexual relationship; or making a "grown up choice"
True they will do what they want to do in or outside the home. But studies show if the parents are involved and loving, with open communication, APROCHABLE with out fear. then the child/teen is more likely to make a better choice.
Parents need to be understanding, kind and firm, approachable with out a scary reaction. and present in the teens lives.

Sarah Palin is far from LIBERAL!!! She's just retarded, and lacks the common sense us normal people have.... Who in the world is going to preach ABSTINANCE and then let your daughters boyfriend STAY IN THE SAME ROOM?!?!?! She's just a confused soul, confusing those kids she brought into this world.

rdredwine-- did your definition of "Liberal Parenting" come out of Webster's? Probably not. Please don't lump all liberal minded people into one disfunctional, irresponsible category.

I'm very liberal and what I believe in is teaching a child all aspects of all things so that they walk away with an open mind to form their own opinion and grow into their own person. I'm not a drill sergent nor am I a best friend. There is a happy medium.

SoniaS - I absolutely did not call the underage pregnancy liberal. I was referring to the practice of allowing teen boyfriends/girlfriends to spend the night under a parent's roof. "Liberal" and "Persmissive" refer to two distinct parenting styles...permissive/indulgent and liberal.

I think its funny and annoying that you use the word liberal to describe an under age pregnancy that happened b/c the parents allowed the boyfriend to sleep over. Then to write Liberal/Permissive. Like they mean the same thing. Permissive means deficient in firmness or control. So what statement are you really trying to make? I find you snotty and offensive to humanity. But what conservative isnt.

It is not the public's or government's right to interfere in how parents raise their children. Of course, criminal acts should be dealt with, accordingly.

It is also not up to the state to raise the children for the parents. So they should stop trying to.

Who cares what her sister in law did?

Not a good idea for 2 people to be engaging in sex if they are not committed to one another and then having a baby in the mix definetly out of the question. I wouldn't have let my daughter get involved with someone until after she was married.

I too grew up in a home where sex was discussed openly, we were allowed to drink alcohol and have our boyfriends over the house. Overnight visits were limited to special occasions such as prom night. I respected the rules and only had overnight guests when i was in college. Birth control was strongly encouraged by both my parents and i think i acted responsible where that issue was concerned. Education and responsibility has to be formost before contact with the opposite sex.

Liberal parenting is a term that describes parents who don't want to discipline or say no to their children. They prefer being friends than parents.

we're parents of three girls. We're not liberal.

I just read where Sarah Palin's sister-in-law was busted for burglary and now this. What a mess. Glad I voted for Obama.

It's hard to tell if Levi Johnston is taking advantage of his 15 minutes of fame or if (like I suspected all along) Sarah Palin is more concerned with her political career than she is parenting her children. If she let Levi and Bristol sleep in the same bed under her own roof, shame on her! And, no...you can't watch teenagers 24/7 but, as a parent of a 17 year old son and 21 year old daughter, I know that you CAN instill values that can help your kids make good decisions when they're left to do that alone. It's unfortunate that these teenagers had to face very adult life changes at such a young age, but now they need to work together to finish school, provide for their child, and learn from their own situation to make better decisions in the future.

Dear Mother1:

Where'd this fictional AJ come from? And what does it have to do with the topic at hand?

Anyone can quote scripture, even the Devil. Scripture is useless unless you understand it. More important than that, you should understand where scripture originates: from powerful men wishing to control others, especially the ownership and sexuality of women and slaves (in their minds, one in the same.) Politics and religion are intrinsicly linked.

You write: Bible bluntly says, "Flee from sexual immorality" (1 Corinthians 6:18)." You do not provide the Bible's interrpretation of sexual immorality (because that would take a lot of work and a lot of comparisons between different books and writers who ultimately contradict themselves. Instead, you cop out and write: "This includes any kind of sexual activity apart from marriage." Oh yeah? Prove it.

Then you write a bunch of other stuff, which I presume are more scipture verses, but you don't bother citing any of them. Tsk.

This statement is false: "Nevertheless, to avoid bfornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband." Many people who perfectly fine, upstanding individuals never get married. No one has to get married.

This is just frightening: "The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 1 Cor. 7" I'm married. I don't own my husband, and he sure as he11 doesn't own me.

This is just silliness: "Why ignore His way, when it is best for us in the long run? The Bible warns, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12)" Everything leads to death. You're dying right now. You can't stop it. And you don't understand your God's plan. No one does. Don't pretend that you do just to try to convert a few people. Because if I know one thing about Christianity, I know that lying is a sin.

Little in the Bible is still relevant today. The idea that there are still people in this world who are attempting to get people to live according to the interpretation of a book that is over 2000 years old is completely absurd.

Liberal parenting has nothing to do with your political affiliations, Hahahaha

gasp!!!!! Madeline (love your name) OMG! I cannot believe someone would allow that to go on! I hope you keep a strong head on your shoulders and do the right thing.

Please. I'm a parent. When my children become teenagers, I certainly will not allow them to have just anybody sleep over. And I feel as if I'm totally liberal. Girl.. boy...doesn't matter. It's still my house! My parents were extremely strict and I ended up getting pregnant (at 17) and becoming a mother. Thankfully, it has worked out for me and I love being a mother more than anything. I've graduated college, got married, and have had another child. I will not allow my children to have boyfriends sleepover, but I will encourage them to come to me for advice and someone to talk to. I will supply them with knowledge and condoms (IF NEED BE). I do NOT want them getting pregnant in life as early as I did. Not to mention AIDS/STDs! I am one of the few who has actually taken full responsibility at such a young age.