This book vividly encapsulates the absurdities, heartbreaks, and possibilities of contemporary child rearing. The book shows how parents today are all too often caught up in a guilt-driven pendulum swing between parenting too little and parenting too much. Dr. Ehrensaft suggests innovative ways to overcome the treacherous balancing acts of work and family demands. She invites us to replace perfect parenting with 'good-enough, ' trade harriedness for harmony, and give our children a healthier environment in which to grow.

Parenting and education expert Alfie Kohn tackles the misconception that overparenting and overindulgence has produced a modern generation of entitled children incapable of making their way in the world.

Revised edition of How much is enough?, published in 2004 by Marlowe & Company.

"In Do Fathers Matter? the award-winning journalist and father of five Paul Raeburn overturns the many myths and stereotypes of fatherhood as he examines the latest scientific findings on the parent we've often overlooked. Drawing on research from neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, geneticists, and developmental psychologists, among others, Raeburn takes us through the various stages of fatherhood, revealing the profound physiological connections between children and fathers, from conception through adolescence and into adulthood--and the importance of the relationship between mothers and fathers. In the process, he challenges the legacy of Freud and mainstream views of parental attachment, and also explains how we can become better parents ourselves."--www.Amazon.com.

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.

New York Times Bestseller “We all want to raise children with good values—children who are the opposite of spoiled—yet we often neglect to talk to our children about money. . . . From handling the tooth fairy, to tips on allowance, chores, charity, checking accounts, and part-time jobs, this engaging and important book is a must-read for parents.” — Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project In the spirit of Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s Nurture Shock, New York Times “Your Money” columnist Ron Lieber delivers a taboo-shattering manifesto that explains how talking openly to children about money can help parents raise modest, patient, grounded young adults who are financially wise beyond their years For Ron Lieber, a personal finance columnist and father, good parenting means talking about money with our kids. Children are hyper-aware of money, and they have scores of questions about its nuances. But when parents shy away from the topic, they lose a tremendous opportunity—not just to model the basic financial behaviors that are increasingly important for young adults but also to imprint lessons about what the family truly values. Written in a warm, accessible voice, grounded in real-world experience and stories from families with a range of incomes, The Opposite of Spoiled is both a practical guidebook and a values-based philosophy. The foundation of the book is a detailed blueprint for the best ways to handle the basics: the tooth fairy, allowance, chores, charity, saving, birthdays, holidays, cell phones, checking accounts, clothing, cars, part-time jobs, and college tuition. It identifies a set of traits and virtues that embody the opposite of spoiled, and shares how to embrace the topic of money to help parents raise kids who are more generous and less materialistic. But The Opposite of Spoiled is also a promise to our kids that we will make them better with money than we are. It is for all of the parents who know that honest conversations about money with their curious children can help them become more patient and prudent, but who don’t know how and when to start.

"Spoiled Right allows you to cut through the noise so you can provide kids the childhoods they deserve. Get this book!" -Richard Freed, psychologist and author of Wired Child "I am so glad this book exists. As a parent, educator, and screentime consultant aware of the modern challenges presented by excess screen use, I am constantly searching for research-based strategies to apply in my own home and in my work with clients. Dr. Owenz's book is not only chock full of the research we need to support child-centered developmental choices, but it also provides parents and caregivers with practical and tactical 'to-do's' to put intention into (research-backed) action. It's not about 'less screens'; it's about more of the high-quality life experiences that truly contribute to healthy development. Dr. Owenz approaches the challenge of screentime with empathy, warmth, and personal experience to show that less screentime is not only possible, it's preferable in the long run. It is easy to tell parents 'do less screentime, ' but to have a resource that actually maps out the five key ingredients (her S.P.O.I.L. method) for raising healthy and happy children is truly awesome. This book will be a go-to resource for me for a long time!" -Emily Cherkin, MA Ed, and The Screentime Consultant From the author of popular parenting blog, Screen-Free Parenting. If kids are supposed to be spending less time on screens, what should they be doing instead? This book answers that question and gives parents and those who work with them, a science-backed, developmentally appropriate system for emphasizing alternative activities of childhood that can incidentally reduce screen time and minimize the negative effects. It's the much needed "what to do" answer in response to the heavy-handed "what not to do" mandates about children's screen time. Dr. Owenz suggests caregivers do not need another thing to avoid, and instead should be focusing on what children need more of, like social time, play opportunities, outdoor experiences, chores, and a strong relationship with reading. Meghan Owenz, PhD is an author, parent, counseling psychologist, and professor at Penn State University, Berks. She is the co-founder and writer of the popular parenting website, Screen-Free Parenting. She is a regular speaker on the topic of children's screen time and uses her expertise to advocate for science-backed changes to policies and practices that affect children's well-being. She also created the board game, Starting Lines, to fight creative decline and reward children's out-of-the-box thinking. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children who are thriving with very limited screen time.