Cover of MYTH OF THE SPOILED CHILD

MYTH OF THE SPOILED CHILD

by Alfie Kohn · first published 2009

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2016–2020first – last mentioned

100% recommend

"Somehow, a set of deeply conservative assumptions about children-- what they're like and how they should be raised-- have 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. Young people, meanwhile, are routinely described as entitled and narcissistic . . . among other unflattering adjectives. In The Myth of the Spoiled Child, Alfie Kohn systematically debunks these beliefs-- not only challenging erroneous factual claims but also exposing the troubling ideology that u

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What Hacker News says

  • dreadpirateryan · Jun 3, 2018 · Recommends

    I'm so glad you asked this question. I rarely see people question assertions like this with regards to parenting or children's behavior. Alfie Kohn's book, "The myth of the spoiled child", spends a lot of time pointing out that evidence behind claims like this are not only deficient of data, but are claims that seem to be made continuously throughout history of the latest generation of…

    on “Why Children Aren't Behaving and What We Can Do About It” ↗
  • lukewrites · Nov 17, 2020 · Recommends

    …fathers, if they're connected/"there" enough. Since I'm guessing there will be a bunch of parents in this thread, let me make a humble book recommendation: Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn The Myth of the Spoiled Child by Alfie Kohn Kohn is an education researcher who's kind of an iconoclast. His research has focused heavily on what _helps_ children gain the knowledge, academic wherewithal, and social-emotional skills…

    on “The biology of dads” ↗
  • ColinDabritz · May 25, 2016 · Recommends

    …of 'grit' as an educational philosophy: http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/downside-grit/ It's not just overrated, it can be actively harmful. He goes further on this and other topics in the book "The Myth of the Spoiled Child"

    on “Is ‘grit’ overrated in explaining student success?” ↗

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