The Myth of the Spoiled Child by Alfie Kohn

The Myth of the Spoiled Child by Alfie Kohn

A prominent and esteemed critic challenges widely held beliefs about children and parenting, revealing that underlying each myth is a deeply conservative ideology that is, ironically, often adopted by liberal parents.

Somehow a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children--what they're like and how they should be raised--has 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. 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 parenting that is too controlling rather than too indulgent.

With the same lively, contrarian style that marked his influential books about rewards, competition, and education, Kohn relies on a vast collection of social science data, as well as on logic and humor, to challenge assertions that appear with numbing regularity in the popular press and are often accepted uncritically, even by people who are politically liberal. These include claims that young people

- suffer from inflated self-esteem
- are entitled and narcissistic
- receive trophies, praise, and A's too easily
- are in need of more self-discipline and grit

Kohn's invitation to reexamine these and other assumptions is particularly timely; his book has the potential to change our culture's conversation about kids and the people who raise them.

According to Time magazine, Alfie Kohn is arguably the country's most outspoken opponent of education's obsession on grades [and] test scores. The Schools Our Children Deserve, The Argument Against Standardized Testing, and The Homework Myth are among his 13 books on education and human behavior. Kohn, a former teacher, now consults with schools across the country and talks at national conferences on a regular basis. He currently resides in Belmont, Massachusetts. and www.alfiekohn.org (virtually).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780807073889
ISBN 10	0807073881
Title	The Myth of the Spoiled Child
Author	Alfie Kohn
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Beacon Press
Year published	2016-03-08
Number of pages	280
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.