"JG" <jg030103@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:<4HWVa.5997$gi.3722937@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>...
<...>
> But she ultimately steps back, and leaves final conclusions up to her
> readers. In the end, it seems to me, if those readers at the very least
> walk away from "Raising America" feeling less intimidated by the experts
> and more confident in their own common sense as parents and in going to
> grandma for child raising advice, Hulbert will have done them a favor.
Thoughts, in no particular order:
** Since people in this country have been relying on experts for
child-rearing advice for the last hundred years, it's not
clear how 'going to Grandma' is going to help. The chances
are good that by doing that you're just getting the advice
of the previous generation of experts. So you're not just
getting 'expert' advice, you're getting *outdated* expert
advice.
** "So, for instance, today's elite parenting culture - the books,
magazines
and Web sites - will often, but certainly not always, talk about the
need for parents to have some authority in their children's lives. Yet
in the same breath, they will maintain that you should regularly give
your child as many choices as possible in every conceivable area of his
life. They might argue that a child needs limits and discipline, but
will then make the case that one should never spank a child because a
little one can't understand what's happening, but an 18-month old can
effectively be put in a "time out." They talk about helping a child to
develop a sense of empathy and right and wrong, but are adamant that one
never criticize the child, "only his behavior.""
I don't get what's so confusing about this. They say that
parents should have some authority, but that kids should be given
choices when possible. Where's the contradiction? Kids should
be given limits and discipline, but not by cor****al punishment.
What's confusing about that? You should teach your child right
from wrong, but by condemning wrong behavior, not the child
him or herself. And the problem is?...
You don't have to agree with this advice, but it doesn't sound
contradictory to me.
Beth
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