Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B008OCROVY | Format: EPUB
Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success Description
Psychologist Madeline Levine brings together cutting-edge research and thirty years of clinical experience to explode once and for all the myth that good grades, high test scores, and college acceptances should define the parenting endgame.
Parents, educators, and the media wring their hands about the plight of America's children and teens - soaring rates of emotional problems, limited coping skills, disengagement from learning and yet there are ways to reverse these disheartening trends.
Teach Your Children Well acknowledges that every parent wants successful children. However, until we are clearer about our core values and the parenting choices that are most likely to lead to authentic, and not superficial, success, we will continue to raise exhausted, externally driven, impaired children who believe they are only as good as their last performance. Real success is always an inside job, argues Levine, and is measured not by today's report card but by the people our children become 15 or 20 years down the line.
Refusing to be diverted by manufactured controversies such as "tiger moms versus coddling moms," Levine confronts the real issues behind the way we push some of our kids to the breaking point while dismissing the talents and interests of many others. She shows us how to shift our focus from the excesses of hyperparenting and the unhealthy reliance on our children for status and meaning to a parenting style that concentrates on both enabling academic success as well as developing a sense of purpose, well-being, connection, and meaning in our children's lives.
Teach Your Children Well is a call to action. And while it takes courage to make the changes we believe in, the time has come, says Levine, to return our overwrought families to a healthier and saner version of themselves.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 10 hours and 56 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Audible.com Release Date: July 24, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008OCROVY
There are three major ideas from this book that I really liked-
1. Focus on what you're doing right rather than what is wrong.
2. We need to have a more complete picture of what success is.
3. Parents should focus on life skills more.
I agree with all of those things. As a mom with 4 teens at home, I am very interested in preparing them for the world in ways that help them be successful.
That said, to me, the author seems completely unaware of her own privilege. My kids have grown up on a farm and have had jobs since they were 11-13. My experience is so disconnected for the picture she was painting that I just cannot relate. She presupposes that her experience is representative. Not only is it not representative, it isn't even related.
I also disagree with her advice on sex. The idea that kids are going to have sex and we should just accept that is bothersome to me. I understand that some teens have sex. I have realistic discussions with my kids about birth control, stds, pregnancies, and heartache. But I do think that helping kids postpone premature sexual activity is a worthy goal. We should not just assume it's inevitable.
So basically, this is a decent child rearing guide for upper middle class parents of suburban kids who are growing up without some very basic life experiences. That sounds like I am dismissive or critical. I am neither. But the truth is that the children this book is about are very well protected from reality. They truly do need someone to teach them values, instill a sense of purpose and prepare them for life.
Otherwise they'll all become politicians and investment bankers.
By Gracie
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
I have four kids, so I read a lot of parenting books. I had heard of Dr. Levine's, "The Price of Privilege," but had not read it...so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I feel so lucky to have read it. There is so much great information here. In reality, it's like four parenting books in one.
I really loved this quote from the book, "While we all hope our children will do well in school, we hope with even greater fervor that they will do well in life. Our job is to help them to know and appreciate themselves deeply; to aproach the world with zest; to find work that is exciting and satisfying, friends and spouses who are loving and loyal; and to hold a deep belief that they have something meaningful to contribute to society. That is what it means to teach our children well."
The thing is, our society/culture is not set up for that. RIght now, we're all focused on grades and money. Most schools only reward those who excell in athletics or English and math--we forget about all the other areas where kids (and people can excell). Parents care that kids get into a "good" school more than they care about whether or not that college is a good fit for their kids. Kids are over-programmed and denied play (especially unstructured), art, and music. We're doomed for failure if we continue this way.
I loved so much about this book. It was a wake up call. One nice aspect missing in many parenting books is that Dr. Levine isn't just focused on young kids, she breaks the book down into early elementary, middle school, and high school--and tallks about what kids need at each stage. The last part of the book is focused on seven essential skills kids need to develop to thrive. She includes real concrete ideas on how to teach your kids these skills too.
Can't say enough good things about this book. Filled with real-life examples, too. Excellent.
By Mayflower Girl
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
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