Joanna Fortune: My partner and I have very different approaches to parenting

My partner lets our school children make their own mistakes, while I am more protective. Now our children are playing us off each other

The greatest gift you will give your children is to visibly, audibly show respect for their other parent. Picture: iStock 

My partner and I have two very different approaches to parenting. His default position is to step back and let them make their own mistakes. I tend to be more protective and anticipate what might go wrong. Our children are in primary school, so they are still very dependent on us. I’ve tried to ignore the difference but the children have cottoned on and started playing us off each other, which is leading to rows. What would you suggest?

This isn’t about which of you is right or wrong — it is about the fact that you are parenting on different pages, which causes confusion and drives the splitting you’re seeing.