I got a call recently that made me smile: Good Housekeeping wanted my clinical take on the “Type C mom” trend that’s been all over TikTok — the hybrid of Type A structure and Type B flexibility that so many moms are recognizing themselves in.
I love when a viral moment gives us a real opening to talk about something that actually matters. So here’s the fuller version of what I shared.
Why “Good Enough” Parenting Works
There’s real relief in the Type C label. It gives parents permission to stop chasing a standard no one can actually hit. Kids don’t need a flawless parent. They need a present one. That’s the gift of this trend — it’s making “good enough” feel like enough.
Where I’d Add a Caution
But I want to be honest about the edge of this, because I see it in my office often: flexibility can quietly slide into disengagement if a parent isn’t careful. The goal isn’t to lower the bar on being present — it’s to lower the bar on being perfect.
Here’s something I said in the piece that I stand behind fully:
“Many parents today have become afraid of their children’s emotional distress. Parents often feel responsible for preventing every uncomfortable feeling their kids have. One of the best things we can give our children is helping them discover that they can experience difficult emotions, move through them, and come out stronger on the other side.”
If your child is sad, the instinct to fix it fast — turn on a show, distract, smooth it over — is loving. But it can also quietly teach kids that difficult feelings are something to be rescued from rather than moved through. I’d rather my kids learn they can survive a hard feeling than learn that someone will always make it go away.
My Go-To Question for the Gray Areas
When I’m not sure whether something is a hill worth dying on, I ask myself:
“Will this matter in a year from now?”
That question does a lot of work. It separates what actually reflects your family’s values from what’s just inconvenient in the moment. My advice: pick two or three non-negotiables and hold them consistently. Let everything else flex. Kids don’t need rigidity across the board — they need to know exactly where the walls are.
What Actually Sticks With Kids
The line from the article I keep coming back to is this one, because I believe it completely:
“It’s not about raising perfect children. It’s about helping children become the best version of themselves. Years later, children rarely remember whether their lunch was organic, or whether every rule was enforced perfectly. They do remember whether they felt safe, understood, encouraged, and loved.”
That’s the whole thing, really. Type C isn’t a personality type — it’s a posture. Present where it counts, consistent on what matters, and gentle with yourself about the rest.
You can read the full Good Housekeeping feature here.
Want more on this kind of thing? Visit Dr Dana McNeil and sign up for a free copy of her book The D-Spot.
