Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn

Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn

Most parenting guides begin with the question How can we get kids to do what they're told? and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking, What do kids need--and how can we meet those needs? What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them.

One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including time-outs), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send.

More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from doing to to working with parenting--including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of thirteen books and scores of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities, as well as to parent groups and corporations. Kohn's criticisms of competition and rewards have been widely discussed and debated, and he has been described in Time magazine as perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780743487474
ISBN 10	0743487478
Title	Unconditional Parenting
Author	Alfie Kohn
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Atria Books
Year published	2005-03-01
Number of pages	264
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable