It Takes a Parent : How the Culture of Pushover Parenting Is Hurting Our Kids--And What to Do about It

by Hart, Betsy

• ISBN13: 9780399153037
• ISBN10: 0399153039
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-18
• Publisher: Putnam Adult

Summary

Parents who are tyrannized by "experts." Obsessed with perfection. Anxious and harried by their children to the point of misery. Columnist and commentator Betsy Hart sees these parents everywhere, and she faults today's "parenting culture"-that is, the accepted dogma that leads parents to put their kids on a pedestal, to shy away from disciplining or even criticizing them when they misbehave, and to generally cede the responsibility for making decisions, large and small, to their children. Hart argues that the consequences of this approach to parenting can be seen on the faces of out-of-control, unhappy, self-absorbed children and teens across our nation-not to mention miserable moms and dads.

Author Biography

Betsy Hart is a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service. Her weekly column on cultural, family, and political issues, "From the Hart," is distributed to 350 newspapers across the country. She is a frequent commentator on CNN and the Fox News Channel.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(10)
Kids Gone Wild	11	(20)
Perseverance: Mission Possible	31	(16)
I'm on Your Side (What's a Parent for, Anyway?)	47	(12)
It's All About Me---Not!	59	(14)
Our Children, Our Idols	73	(16)
The Self-Delusion of Self-Esteem	89	(16)
Misbehavior and Other Matters of the Heart	105	(16)
When Did ``No'' Become a Dirty Word?	121	(16)
Who Chose to Give Kids So Many Choices?	137	(20)
Feelings, Wo-oh-oh Feelings	157	(18)
Led Zeppelin and the Culture Wars: The Culture Can Be Cool	175	(22)
To Spank or Not to Spank (and Why It's Not Really the Right Question, Anyway)	197	(20)
Challenge the Experts for the Sake of Your Child	217	(12)
Sources	229	(6)
Index	235