Permissive parents skew left, strict ones right US parenting has become political like never before

Jason was absorbed in a game on his phone, so I asked his mom, “How long has Jason had this stomachache?”Mom responded, “I’m thinking it’s been about two days.”Jason then piped in, “Shut up, mom.You don’t know what you’re talking about.” And he gave a snooty laugh, without looking up from his video game.Jason was 10 years old at the time.

Mom gave me a sheepish look, as if to say, “What can you do?”I have been a family physician for more than 30 years.Twenty years ago, behavior like Jason’s would have been unimaginable.

Now it’s common.More to the point: 20 years ago, I did not perceive a political dimension to parenting.Some parents were too strict, some parents were too permissive and some parents were just right — and I saw no connection between parenting style and parental politics.Back then, I could tell you about parents who were left-of-center, ACLU-card-carrying liberals who were also strict, authoritative parents.Not anymore.Today, left-of-center parents are more likely to be permissive, and permissive parents are more likely to be left-of-center.

That’s new.Jason’s mom is left of center — she wore Harris-Walz buttons during the 2024 election.Left-of-center parents are now uncomfortable exercising their authority as parents, and their kids are now more likely to be defiant and disrespectful.That wasn’t true 20 years ago, in my observation.But it’s true today.In my book “The Collapse of Parenting,” I explored how changes in American culture have undermined the authority of parents.American popular culture — the culture of YouTube and Instagram and TikTok, of the Disney Channel and the Billboard Hot 100 — has become a culture of disrespect, teaching kids that it’s cute and funny to disrespect their parents and one another.It’s a culture that is harder for left-of-center parents to push back against and reject.Let me tell you another story: Brett was a good student in elementary school.

But in middle scho...