I have never punished my sons. I have never set rules. I have never taken away personal possessions or liberties. I have never set boundaries. I have never imposed guilt. No routines. No expectations. No structure. And certainly, no adherence to any societal, faith, or tradition based guidelines.

Now you are puzzled right? You were possibly expecting some 'book' or indeed a set of guidelines through which I steered both sons, as we traversed the years.

Does this lack of guidance make me a bad mum? My peers have been quick to agree. Children need all of the above, in order to equip them for adulthood, they've argued. Without discipline, routine, structure, rules, restriction of access to possessions and freedom, without the threat of punishment, and the acceptance of and the adherence to authority, how will they cope with the harsh reality of living in today's perilous world?

What was I? A very late to bloom flower-child, floating on sunshine and rainbows and singing "Here comes the Sun"? Or was I simply clueless and lazy and just plain couldn't be bothered instilling any "values"? Yeah, I was told this too.

If we take apart each of these impositions - from a societal perspective - certainly, my parenting 'style' starts to look more like a how-to book on producing an anarchist. Or in my case two. As always however, there are two sides so as we dissect, let's look ahead at the possible outcomes.