The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap - Softcover

Rosenfeld, Alvin; Wise, Nicole

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312263392 ISBN 13: 9780312263393

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2001

Synopsis

Do you find yourself asking "Whose life is it anyway?" Parenting today has come to resemble a relentless to-do list. Even parents with the best intentions strive to micro-manage every detail of their kids' lives and live in constant fear that their child will under-perform in any area--academic, social, athletic. Lists and schedules, meetings and appointments invade our every moment and the need to be the best dominates--and undermines--our own sense of self as well as our children's. In this groundbreaking new book, renowed child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., and longtime family-issues journalist Nicole Wise combine personal and professional experience to take action against what they see as our overeager pursuit of perfection. The clear, comforting steps they prescribe to attack this rampant phenomenon will promote healthier and happier children and revitalize the parenting experience.

About this title

Review

If you've just sat down after a day that included taking your very intelligent child to a Kumon math tutoring session, shuttling another to soccer practice and piano lessons, supervising the homework of both to make sure it's perfect, and making a midnight trip to the grocery store to pick up the organic grapes for tomorrow's nutritionally balanced lunches, then Hyper-Parenting: Are You Hurting Your Child by Trying Too Hard? is for you. According to authors Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., and Nicole Wise, there's a lot of this kind of hyper-parenting going on out there. This parenting style can be loosely defined as one that attempts to control everything in a child's environment with the aim of achieving a perfect outcome. It's not realistic or healthy, say the authors. Chapter by chapter, examining everything from parents' reliance on "expert" opinions to the huge impact of media messages on parent behavior, Rosenfeld and Wise make a compelling argument for their premise. They encourage parents to turn the lens inward and ask themselves what messages they are sending--not with their words, but with their behavior. Hyper-Parenting is a book for parents at every stage in the parenting game. It's never too late, or too early, to try to tune out some of the noisy clamor around us and thoughtfully reflect on our values and what we really want for our children. --Virginia Smyth

From the Inside Flap

Hyper-Parenting -- the new phrase on every parent's lips -- adresses a hot-button issue: the over-scheduling and over-enriching of our children. Lists and schedules, meetings and appointments, the need to be the best no matter what -- doesn't it sound like your life? It's not; it's your child's. Parenting today has come to resemble a relentless to-do list. Even parents with the best intentions strive to micro-manage every detail of their kid's life and live in constant fear that their child will underperform in any area -- academic, social, athletic. The fact is, parenting should not consume every last bit of our time, money, and energy. It's not good for us as parents, and it's potentially dangerous for our children and their healthy development. Luckily, there is a cure for hyper-parenting. In their groundbreaking new book, renowned child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., and longtime family-issues journalist Nicole Wise identify and attack this rampant ! phenomenon. With the strength of their combined professional and personal experience, Rosenfeld and Wise tell you how to identify the hyper-parent in yourself. They also prescribe clear, comforting steps to make parenting a happier and healthier experience for you and your child.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0312263392
• ISBN 13: 9780312263393
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304