I suppose what Dh and I do is a combination of parenting styles. We always knew what we wouldn't do with kids as friends of ours had a daughter that was (and still is) horrendous in every aspect - sleeping, eating, behaviour etc, so we decided that we needed to set boundries for our children and to discipline them if the situation warranted it.

We used controlled crying, but it was always more of a whimper than a cry, and if they did cry, they were not left for too long before given comfort. We never initially set routines, things just fell into place after a while and Lindsay just started doing things at the same time every day. We have always followed their leads for hunger and sleep.

We do both strongly believe in children being taught to respect their elders and be disciplined if misbehaving. I was brought up by a father who was in the army, and thus used 'penants' punishment where we were all punished for one childs behaviour and a mother who never disciplined. Even now my Mum tells me I am too hard on the kids.

Parenting style is really individual and I don't think anyone should be criticised for their parenting beliefs, so long as it works for you and your children.