The myth of the spoiled child challenging the conventional wisdom about children and parenting

"Somehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children-- what they're like and how they should be raised-- have congealed into the conventional wisdom in our society. Parents are accused of being both permissive and overprotective, unwilling to set limits and afraid to let their...

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Main Author: Kohn, Alfie.
Format: Books Print Book
Language: English
Published: Boston, MA : Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group, 2014.
Subjects:
Summary: "Somehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children-- what they're like and how they should be raised-- have congealed into the conventional wisdom in our society. Parents are accused of being both permissive and overprotective, unwilling to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. Young people, meanwhile, are routinely described as entitled and narcissistic . . . among other unflattering adjectives. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child, Alfie Kohn systematically debunks these beliefs-- not only challenging erroneous factual claims but also exposing the troubling ideology that underlies them. Complaints about pushover parents and coddled kids are hardly new, he shows, and there is no evidence that either phenomenon is especially widespread today-- let alone more common than in previous generations. Moreover, new research reveals that helicopter parenting is quite rare and, surprisingly, may do more good than harm when it does occur. The major threat to healthy child development, Kohn argues, is posed by parenting that is too controlling rather than too indulgent." -- Publisher's description.
Physical Description: vii, 268 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-259) and index.
ISBN: 9780738217246 (hardcover)
0738217247 (hardcover)
Author Notes: Alfie Kohn was described by "Time" as "the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades & test scores." The author of the influential "No Contest" & "Punished by Rewards," he writes & speaks widely about human behavior, education, & social theory. He lives in Belmont, Massachusetts.

(Bowker Author Biography)