Gentle parenting is a myth - strict bedtimes and routines will boost children's brain development

Over the past few weeks, the idea of gentle parenting has gone viral over social media.

This ideology focuses around not being strict with disciplining children - teaching them instead of telling them off, and not raising your voice. In one recent video, a "gentle parent" apologised to the TikTok community after forcing her daughter to say sorry to her baby sister.

This coming after the toddler bit her baby sister's toe... which in my childhood would have resulted in a smack, no dinner and an early bedtime. And quite rightly so.

But it's not just this reporter who thinks gentle parenting is a load of nonsense; now, researchers have found that strict bedtimes and set playtime can actually improve a child's memory and brain power.

Study leader Professor Emily Merz from Colorado State University said: "Sleep insufficiency may be associated with not only the brain’s structure but also the function of emotion processing brain circuits in children. This may possibly explain why reduced sleep leads to greater susceptibility to negative emotions.

"Although most developmental studies of sleep have focused on teens, this research underscores the need to assess and support children’s sleep health prior to adolescence.

"Childhood is a sensitive period in development when environmental experiences can have powerful and lasting influences on the brain. Our work – and work done by other labs – suggests that antipoverty policies that support families have the potential to change the trajectory of children’s lives."

A separate study by the North Carolina Academy of Science also found that teenagers got higher scores in tests after sleeping for eight hours, and not using their phones before bed.

So to hell with gently asking your child to turn their phone off before bed - just confiscate it. They'll thank you for it someday.