In many hunter-gatherer cultures, parents rarely scold or punish a child. They rarely insist that a child comply with a request or behave in a certain way. They believe that trying to control a child prevents their development and simply stresses the parent-child relationship. This idea is so prevalent among hunter-gatherer cultures worldwide that there’s little doubt it’s an ancient way of treating children. If we could go back in time and interview parents fifty thousand years ago, we would (very) likely hear the same advice.
