The “Lighthouse Family” on Parental Guidance have caused a stir online after revealing they let the eldest of their four children – Pepper, 10, and Jude, six – swim unaccompanied at the beach while watching from their balcony, with some viewers accusing the couple of being lazy.
Since the criticism, Sammy and Jason, from Queensland’s Gold Coast, have doubled down on their parenting style, declaring it instills “independence and confidence” in their kids.
Lighthouse parents have doubled down on their parenting style.
(Image: Supplied)The principle of “Lighthouse parenting” is to maintain a watchful eye on children from a distance, granting them plenty of independence while ensuring their safety at the same time.
“It does look lazy from the outside, but to get them to the point where we can trust them takes a lot of time, hard work and boundaries,” Jason, 41, tells TV WEEK.
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“The swimming happens only when they’ve gained our full trust – it’s definitely not lazy.
“It’s definitely not lazy.”
(Image: Supplied)“Whether people agree with that scenario or not, those who know our family know that our kids are great and that it’s working,” Sammy, 41, says.
“Our friends and family have been an amazing support, so we’re focusing on that as opposed to the bullying and trolling [online].”
The couple laugh that they didn’t think their parenting style was “anything special” and had doubts as to what they could bring to Parental Guidance.
“The show has all these other styles of parenting that are so obviously [more] controversial – like the Influencer family, the Outback family and the Gentle parents – which we thought struck a chord more than ours,” Sammy says.
“It’s ironic that it’s been the opposite.”
