The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them like Grown-Ups

by Leonard Sax

Overview

In The Collapse of Parenting, internationally acclaimed author Leonard Sax argues that rising levels of obesity, depression, and anxiety among young people can be traced to parents abdicating their authority. The result is children who have no standard of right and wrong, who lack discipline, and who look to their peers and the Internet for direction. Sax shows how parents must reassert their authority—by limiting time with screens, by encouraging better habits at the dinner table, and by teaching humility and perspective—to help their children thrive in an increasingly complicated world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465094288
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	05/09/2017
Edition description:	First Trade Paper Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	79,203
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D., is a doctor and psychologist, and the founder of the National Association for Choice in Education (NACE). The author of Boys Adrift and Girls on the Edge, Sax lives in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Problems

Introduction: Parents Adrift 3

1 The Culture of Disrespect 11

2 Why Are So Many Kids Overweight? 33

3 Why Are So Many Kids on Medication? 49

4 Why Are American Students Falling Behind? 75

5 Why Are So Many Kids So Fragile? 93

Part 2 Solutions

6 What Matters? 117

7 Misconceptions 139

8 The First Thing: Teach Humility 159

9 The Second Thing: Enjoy 173

10 The Third Thing: The Meaning of Life 187

Conclusion 201

Acknowledgments 207

Notes 211

Credits and Permissions 265

Index 267

About the Author 289

Editorial Reviews

"[Sax is] sounding some alarms that we'd do well to heed, and for our kids' sakes, I think sooner is better than later."-Chicago Tribune

"Dr. Leonard Sax's The Collapse of
Parenting should be required reading for all parents."-Dr. Nancy Kehoe, author of Wrestling with Our Inner Angels

"[Sax's]
guidelines are clear and well-supported."-Booklist

"A
comprehensive breakdown of where parents have gone awry and how they can get back on track to teach virtue and character to their children."-Kirkus

"The Collapse of Parenting is one of the best books I've ever read on the subject of raising children. It's not written from a religious perspective, but it's chock-full of information every parent should have."-National Catholic Register

"The Collapse of Parenting may sound like a lone voice in the world of American parenting these days, but it's a desperately needed one.... If you're going to read a single parenting book this year, please make it this one."-Treehugger.com

"If you're going to read one book on parenting this year, make it The
Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax."-New York Journal of Books

"The family unit is in unprecedented decline and under assault from a wide variety of cultural forces. With years of experience and research working directly with parents and children, Dr. Leonard Sax provides an important glimpse into parenting in modern times, where it's gone wrong, and how to fix it. Being a parent has never been more important and Dr. Sax explains how to avoid parenting pitfalls and raise your children well."-Dr. Bill Bennett, former United States Secretary of Education

"Based on years of extensive clinical practice and interviews with students and parents internationally, Sax presents a sobering and alarming picture of the collapse of parenting in this country. But he does not leave the reader without hope; he offers simple, if not easy solutions, giving parents an accessible guide to help them regain their rightful roles."-Dr. Nancy Kehoe, assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, and author of Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness and the Journey to Wholeness

"It is time for us to get real as a society. Dr. Leonard Sax has issued both a warning and an encouragement for parents to take up their proper roles in leading their children to a truly mature adulthood. His book is a highly readable and well-informed challenge for us."-Dr. Timothy Wright, Headmaster, Shore School, Sydney (Australia)

From the Publisher