The Parents We Mean To Be
Trade paperback edition in very good condition.
“All this work to buttress self-esteem and happiness not only makes children less capable of moral action—more self-occupied, less able to invest in others, more fragile, and less able to stand up for important values—but more likely to fret about their attractiveness, competence, or importance to others, more prone to worry and unhappiness.”
Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd argues incisively that parents—not peers, not television—are the primary shapers of children’s moral lives. And yet, it is parents’ lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children’s development. Parents’ intense focus on their children’s happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists. The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children—a heartening trend in many ways—often undercuts kids’ morality. Out fixation with being great parents—and our need for our children to reflect that greatness—can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents’ interaction with coaches and teachers—and coaches’ and teachers’ interactions with children—are critical areas for nurturing, or eroding, children’s moral lives.
Weissbourd’s ultimately compassionate message—based on compelling new research—is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development.
Trade paperback edition in very good condition.
“All this work to buttress self-esteem and happiness not only makes children less capable of moral action—more self-occupied, less able to invest in others, more fragile, and less able to stand up for important values—but more likely to fret about their attractiveness, competence, or importance to others, more prone to worry and unhappiness.”
Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd argues incisively that parents—not peers, not television—are the primary shapers of children’s moral lives. And yet, it is parents’ lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children’s development. Parents’ intense focus on their children’s happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists. The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children—a heartening trend in many ways—often undercuts kids’ morality. Out fixation with being great parents—and our need for our children to reflect that greatness—can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents’ interaction with coaches and teachers—and coaches’ and teachers’ interactions with children—are critical areas for nurturing, or eroding, children’s moral lives.
Weissbourd’s ultimately compassionate message—based on compelling new research—is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development.
Trade paperback edition in very good condition.
“All this work to buttress self-esteem and happiness not only makes children less capable of moral action—more self-occupied, less able to invest in others, more fragile, and less able to stand up for important values—but more likely to fret about their attractiveness, competence, or importance to others, more prone to worry and unhappiness.”
Harvard psychologist Richard Weissbourd argues incisively that parents—not peers, not television—are the primary shapers of children’s moral lives. And yet, it is parents’ lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children’s development. Parents’ intense focus on their children’s happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists. The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children—a heartening trend in many ways—often undercuts kids’ morality. Out fixation with being great parents—and our need for our children to reflect that greatness—can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents’ interaction with coaches and teachers—and coaches’ and teachers’ interactions with children—are critical areas for nurturing, or eroding, children’s moral lives.
Weissbourd’s ultimately compassionate message—based on compelling new research—is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development.
ISBN 978-0-547-24803-5
Richard Weissbourd
2009