diff --git a/singlestoredb/config.py b/singlestoredb/config.py
index 79311ce9c..20d256246 100644
--- a/singlestoredb/config.py
+++ b/singlestoredb/config.py
@@ -201,6 +201,12 @@
     environ='SINGLESTOREDB_BUFFERED',
 )
 
+register_option(
+    'parse_json', 'bool', check_bool, True,
+    'Parse JSON values into Python objects?',
+    environ='SINGLESTOREDB_PARSE_JSON',
+)
+
 register_option(
     'connect_timeout', 'int', check_int, 10,
     'The timeout for connecting to the database in seconds. '
diff --git a/singlestoredb/connection.py b/singlestoredb/connection.py
index 0272a9bbd..40110485d 100644
--- a/singlestoredb/connection.py
+++ b/singlestoredb/connection.py
@@ -1317,6 +1317,7 @@ def connect(
     track_env: Optional[bool] = None,
     enable_extended_data_types: Optional[bool] = None,
     vector_data_format: Optional[str] = None,
+    parse_json: Optional[bool] = None,
 ) -> Connection:
     """
     Return a SingleStoreDB connection.