There’s a conversation happening amongst parents that is drumming up a lot of controversy. It’s around the idea of gentle parenting, which is a catch-all term that generally refers to parents who try to stay calm, place a lot of importance on their child’s emotions and show a lot of physical affection.Dr. Alice Davidson is a professor of developmental psychology at Rollins College, and is one of the few academics to have actually studied gentle parenting. She shares what she has found out.Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com