This 32-year-old mom was raised with gentle parenting and explains why it's made her a successful parent

Parenting styles are always a hot topic. Every generation of parents, from Boomer parents to Gen-X parents to Millennial parents, have a different what the definition of 'good parenting' is--and idea of what works best. And one parenting style that has become popular among Millennial parents is gentle parenting.

Gentle parenting is also referred to as "positive discipline". This style of parenting focuses on parents hearing their children out, offering options and avoiding harsh tones.

TikToker Audi Ferrin (@audi.ferrin) shared with her viewers how her upbringing with gentle parenting has positively impacted her experience as a parent. "I am a product of gentle parenting. I'm 32 years old now, I have three kids. And now that I am the parent. And I'm just now realizing how good of a job my parents did," she shared in the video.

"I spend a lot of time thinking about my childhood and what things my parents did in different situations that helped shape me to be the person I am today, which is: pretty normal, mentally healthy. I have a healthy view of myself. My inner voice is kind,” she said. "And I just feel very lucky and fortunate that my parents made a real huge effort to be kind and respectful to us and really take their job as our parents seriously. They loved us but they were there to guide us."

Ferrin concluded the video with insight from her mom, who shared with her why she chose to utilize gentle parenting. "My mom just always said she put 110% into raising us so that she could sit back and enjoy the rest of her life watching us live out our lives," she shared.

And her video received heaps of praise. "I'm a product of the opposite and being a gentle parent is so important to me now that I have three littles. Thank you for sharing this. ❤️," one wrote. And another added, "I’m a mom of 2 trying to unlearn all of the ways I was parented. The roots run so deep it’s so hard to choose differently sometimes but I try my best so my kids don’t have to unlearn my parenting ways." The post also got this response: "'My inner voice is kind' - what a gift your parents gave to you 😭🥹."

Many asked Ferrin to share more about her experience, so she created a follow-up video with more details.

“Something my parents did a really good job of was teaching us how to treat them. And this just goes for every type of relationship--whether in a romantic relationship, parent-child, child-parent--you teach the people you love how to treat you. And my parents did this by correcting us and kindly setting their boundaries for what was respectful and what wasn’t."

She explained that respect goes both ways, and because her parents treated her with respect, she respected them in return. Ferrin shared a story from when she was "9 or 10" and yelled at her mom, “Don’t be dumb!” Rather than yell or get angry, her mom responded calmly with, "You don’t talk to me like that."

Ferrin explained, "I remember how it felt to disrespect my mom, and I didn’t want to do it again. She didn’t have to scream at me, she didn’t have to punish me, she didn’t have to teach me a huge lesson right there, she just said ‘that’s not how you talk to me'."

And her followers appreciated her honest story. "yeeeeeesssss yes yes yes legendary parents ❤️✨", one wrote.