Taffel (2014) spoke of the need for three-dimensional, fully connected, parenting rather than two-dimensional parenting. He saw two-dimensional parenting as resulting from several factors. He described today’s parents as hyper-stimulated and too distracted by technology, especially cell phones, to pay full attention to their children. Helicopter parents are too intrusive to provide the soothing, quiet times and explorations that children need to have on their own. Some parents respond too much by-the-book. They are trying too hard to follow the advice of parenting experts to respond from the heart.
He blames two-dimensional parenting for the decline in self-reported well-being by in-coming college freshman. He recommends three-dimensional parenting, comprised of both firm limit-setting and sensitive attunement, as providing the authentic parenting that encourages the development of secure, firm attachment.
Taffel, R. (2014). The rise of the two-dimensional parent. Psychotherapy Networker, 38(5), 18-25 & 46.
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