A mom of four lets her kids shave their hair, drink coffee, eat whatever they want and says they don’t have to share — and insists it makes her a better parent.
Mara Doemland, 29, has enrolled in the “free range family” school of parenting, which involves giving her children the option to do whatever they want to do.
Doemland — who lives in Texas with her kids Emmy, 9, Murphy, 7, Ripley, 5, and Indy, 2 — says her style of parenting stems from being “mean” and having “no patience” when she had Emmy at 19. After her experience as a young mother, she wanted to be freer with how she raises her children.
The mom relaxed the stringent rules parents usually implement, noting she and her partner Christopher Mareth, 36, “don’t agree with restricting food.” Instead, they let them choose their meals — even if that involves no leafy greens on their plate and extra dessert.
“I don’t want them to have a negative relationship with food,” Doemland told SWNS. “I make sure all food is available for them which doesn’t categorize certain food as ‘special’ or a treat.”
The Doemlands are one of many families who have opted for more lax living rather than rigid rules. On TikTok, some families are touting “gentle parenting,” which involves neither punishing or rewarding children, while other parents swear by the concept of “sittervising” their children — a term describing leaving kids to play among themselves, without parents intervening.
The mom doesn’t make her kids wear shoes or eat foods they don’t want to. Mara Doemland / SWNS
The Texas-based family doesn’t abide by traditional rules. Mara Doemland / SWNSAs relaxed parents, the Doemlands encourage their kids to play out in the rain and don’t dictate what they wear, simply saying they just want their children to be “comfortable and wear what makes them happy.”
She also lets their kids drink coffee if they want to try it — although noted they don’t drink it as adults do.
“They’re not doing shots of espresso all day,” she joked.
Other controversial parenting rules she and her partner abide by include letting the kids go out barefoot, allowing them to wash in the rain and even permitting them to shave their heads.
She said she’d rather her kids learn certain things for themselves rather than be fearful and scared. Mara Doemland / SWNS
Doemland and her partner Christopher Mareth decided to relax their parenting style. Mara Doemland / SWNS
They let their kids wear whatever they want. Mara Doemland / SWNS“Emmy has her head shaved and is only wearing black and oversized clothes at the moment,” she explained. “We let our boys wear dresses if they want to.”
The parents also don’t police what their kids do in the great outdoors, reasoning that if they eat something they’re not meant to, they will spit it out.
“Kids always put things in their mouth so I don’t stop them eating sand so they can work out for themselves that it’s not something to eat,” she added.
“They’ll probably do it a few times before they learn,” she continued. “I’d rather they learn rather than be fearful and scared of it.”
