The nurturant parent model is a parenting style which envisions a family model where children are expected to explore their surroundings with protection from their parents. This model believes that children inherently know what they need and should be allowed to explore. The parents are responsible for protecting their child during this exploration, including protecting their child from themselves by offering guidance. A child will be picked up if the child cries because the parent wants the child to feel safe and nurtured. If a child grows up believing that its needs will be met, it will be more confident when facing challenges.

Ideas involved in this model include:

This model is based on a study conducted by the Boston College Graduate Program in Human Development, when researchers were investigating the kinds of parenting done by the parents of extraordinarily creative children. The three kinds of parenting are typically cited when discussing parenting styles: "Authoritarian" ("do as I say or else"), "Laissez Faire" ("do anything you want") and "Authoritative" ("here are the boundaries/rules, act within them and you'll be okay, but act outside of them and there will be consequences"). In most parenting books the "authoritative" style is what is recommended. These researchers discovered a fourth style of parenting that they called "the nurturing parent." This style focuses on responsibility, empathy, and creativity. The basic parenting approach that these parents took included:

Mary Dinsmore Salter Ainsworth (December 1, 1913 – March 21, 1999) was a Canadian developmental psychologist known for her work in early emotional attachment with "The Strange Situation" as well as her work in the development of Attachment Theory.

Ainsworth was born in Glendale, Ohio in 1913, eldest of three sisters. parents both graduated from Dickinson College. Her father earned his Master's in History and was transferred to a manufacturing firm in Canada when Ainsworth was five. While her parents always put a strong emphasis on education, it was William McDougall's book Character and the Conduct of Life that inspired her interest in psychology.

Ainsworth enrolled in honors program in psychology at the University of Toronto in the fall of 1929. She earned her B.A. in 1935, her M.A. in 1936, and her Ph.D in 1939, all from the University of Toronto. She stayed to teach for a few years before joining the Canadian Women's Army Corp in 1942 in World War II, reaching the rank of Major in 1945.