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The Collapse of Parenting
- How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
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Publisher's Summary
In The Collapse of Parenting, Leonard Sax, an acclaimed expert on parenting and childhood development, identifies a key problem plaguing American children, especially relative to other countries: the dramatic decline in young people's achievement and psychological health. The root of this problem, Sax contends, lies in the transfer of authority from parents to their children, a shift that has been occurring over the last 50 years and is now impossible to ignore.
Sax pinpoints the effects of this shift, arguing that the rising levels of obesity, depression, and anxiety among young people - as well as their parents' widespread dependence on psychiatric medications to fix such problems - can all be traced back to a corresponding decline in adult authority.
Sax argues that a general decline in respect for elders has had particularly severe consequences for the relationships between parents and their children. The result is parents are afraid of seeming too dictatorial and end up abdicating their authority entirely rather than taking a stand with their own children. If kids refuse to eat anything green and demand pizza instead, parents give in, inadvertently raising children who expect to eat sweets and junk food and are thus more likely to become obese. If children demand and receive the latest smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets and are then allowed to spend the bulk of their waking hours texting with friends and accessing any website they want, they become increasingly reliant on peers and the media for guidance on how to live rather than their parents. And if they won't sit still in class or listen to adults - parents or teachers - they're often prescribed medication, a quick fix that doesn't help them learn self-control. In short, according to Sax, parents have failed to teach their children good habits, leaving children with no clear sense of the distinction between right and wrong. But, Sax insists, there is hope.
To start with, parents need to regain central places in the lives of their young children, displacing same-age peers who can't provide the same kind of guidance and stability. Parents also need to learn that they can't be best friends and parents at the same time. They'll make their children's lives easier if they focus not on pleasing their kids but instead on giving them the tools they need to lead happy, healthy lives.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience as a family psychologist and hundreds of interviews with children, parents, and teachers in the United States and throughout the world, Sax makes a convincing case that if we are to help our children avoid the pitfalls of an increasingly complicated world, we must reassert authority as parents.
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What listeners say about The Collapse of Parenting
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Shant M.
- 2022-09-28
Very Grateful for all the Insight
As a parent of two young boys, I found Dr. Leonard Sax's insights on parenting very profound and encouraging. I plan to use it as a guide and reference in the hopes of bringing up two "conscientious" and loving children.
Thank you Dr. Sax.
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- Regular_Consumer
- 2019-10-04
Excellent
Eye opening. It's sometimes hard to see the world around us but Dr Sax does a great job pulling back the veil. Now time to make some changes...
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- Random Canadian Guy
- 2023-01-22
It's OK
Similar to the book "coddling of the American Mind", only more anecdotal. Still some gems of wisdom.
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- Sheeds
- 2023-07-24
Loved this book!
So many great gems to help me become the best parent I can be.
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- Claudia Garcia
- 2019-03-26
Amazing!
Simply amazing! I hope every parent in the world gets to read /listening this book.
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- Kay Frey
- 2022-10-01
EXCELLENT book.
This should be a parenting manual for all. Solid advice in an easy-to-listen and -digest format.
No frou frou new age parenting BS that will raise snowflakes- our next generation will need less of those.
If everyone keeps going the way they are (without using the advice in this book), our next gen will all be on anti-depressants and still depressed, total whiny pushovers.
God help us all. Just buy the book.
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- nadine
- 2022-06-20
On point
Timely and research based insight into the current issues that face the children and parents of today.
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- QueenZBean
- 2022-01-26
Missed the mark by many miles!!
Although I agree in many ways that parents need to insure they are parenting their children and that there is a level of respect given to their role, invalidating a child is never okay. I tried to give this book a go but the minute we got to the story about the parents planning a ski trip and not forcing their child to go along- I had to stop. If you are a good enough parent you would know that your child doesn't enjoy the ski and you wouldn't plan a trip that would ostracize them. If you wanted to spend time with them than you'd plan something that would build the bonds and encourage the relationship.
That story just confirmed that the author has it out for parents who validate their children's desires and who allow them to be individuals. The author completely invalidates ADHD as a legitimate thing, which is awful. do children need to be more active? Yes! do we need to talk about the value of chores? yes! Do we need to set limits on our technology for our children, definitely!
all of that can be done while validating our role as parents and not invalidating the kids.
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1 person found this helpful