In January 2009, the interviewer from the BBC Britain asked me if I thought I was a strict parent. I have never liked the word strict, because I have associated it with a parent who yells a lot, is stern looking and engages in power struggles. So, in response to the question, I said, “I wouldn’t use the word strict to describe me, but I would say I am firm.”
I shared my thoughts about the word strict with a wise friend of mine. She looked me in the eye and said, “You are wrong about people who are strict. A strict parent DOESN’T HAVE TO YELL.”
All of the sudden I wondered if the semantics of the word strict have been changed in recent years.