It can mean consequences that are predictable rather than arbitrary.
It can mean parents who show up.
It can mean teaching children how to handle disappointment.
It can mean helping them distinguish between wants and responsibilities.
And it can mean creating a home where children feel safe enough to talk honestly.
For a celebrity child, those principles may be especially important because the outside world can already be unpredictable.
Fame can change rapidly.
Public opinion can change rapidly.
Career opportunities can appear and disappear.
Relationships can become news.
Social media can amplify criticism.
A stable family environment can therefore provide something that money and fame cannot: continuity.
The Bigger Lesson for Parents
Jennifer Flavin's comments have generated controversy because they connect two sensitive subjects — celebrity parenting and transgender identity.
The strongest evidence does not support the idea that permissive Hollywood parenting causes children to identify as transgender.
However, research does strongly support the importance of family relationships, communication and parental support for young people's well-being.
That creates a more complicated but ultimately more useful picture.
Parents should provide guidance without assuming that every difference is a problem.
They should establish boundaries without attempting to control every aspect of a child's personality.
They should listen before judging.
And when a child expresses something unfamiliar, parents should seek reliable information rather than immediately accepting either extreme — total control or total disengagement.
For families in the public eye, there is an additional responsibility to remember that children are not extensions of their parents' brands.
They are individuals.
They have their own personalities, fears, ambitions and identities.
Conclusion
Jennifer Flavin's remarks have reignited a long-running conversation about what children need from their parents in an increasingly complicated culture.
Her criticism of celebrity excess raises legitimate questions about parental presence, boundaries, privacy and the challenges faced by children growing up in extraordinary circumstances.
But her suggestion that Hollywood's permissive culture explains why some children identify as transgender goes beyond what current evidence establishes.
Research from organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association and CDC points instead to the importance of supportive, communicative and stable family environments.
Children do need structure.
But structure does not have to mean suppressing individuality.
They need guidance, but they also need to be heard.
They need boundaries, but they also need trust.
And perhaps most importantly, they need parents who see them not as extensions of a family name, a public image or a social-media identity, but as human beings developing their own lives.
That principle applies in Hollywood, in wealthy families and in ordinary homes around the world.
The real challenge of parenting is not creating a child who perfectly fits a parent's expectations.
It is helping a young person grow into a responsible, secure and compassionate adult while giving them the support they need to understand who they are.