REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Unconditional Parenting

POSTED BY: CANTTAKESKY
UPDATED: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 12:27
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 3:37 AM

CANTTAKESKY


Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743487486?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&
creativeASIN=0743487486&linkCode=xm2&tag=homesteadingsurvivalism-20


Quote:

Most parenting guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking, "What do kids need -- and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them.

One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including "time-outs"), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send.

More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from "doing to" to "working with" parenting -- including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.



Haven't read the book, but I like this idea.



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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 3:58 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Sounds interesting; it would certainly be an improvement over the myriad ways most of our parents screw us up! Of course, would have to know more about how they get kids not to be totally self-involved, as I think we've already seen a generation or two of THOSE...

But the love whether the kid succeeds or fails; that's something so many miss, and it's just possibly THE most important thing.


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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 4:02 AM

BYTEMITE


I dunno. I almost think adults might be kind of superfluous to kids after the age of three. I've never known anyone at any age who really listened to their elders, no matter whether they were positive or negative features in their lives. This sounds kind of smothering to me.

The current generations are not as self-involved as widely considered, BTW. They're actually pretty normal, just have different ways of manifesting the usual obsessions (fashions, music, socialization etc.) than previous generations.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 5:16 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
I've never known anyone at any age who really listened to their elders, no matter whether they were positive or negative features in their lives.



I can't think of a single person I know who didn't.


Note to anyone - Please pity the poor, poor wittle Rappyboy. He's feeling put upon lately, what with all those facts disagreeing with what he believes.

"We will never have the elite, smart people on our side." -- Rick "Frothy" Santorum


"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 5:40 AM

CANTTAKESKY


Quote:

Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
This sounds kind of smothering to me.

LOL

Good point. Depends on the kid. If I had a kid like you, I'd leave her be after age 3. ;) Part of my unconditional support for the independent personality.

But the idea I like is to be for the kid whatever the kid needs. If the kid needs lots of emotional contact, give that. If he needs to be free from emotional rituals, give that.




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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 6:52 AM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Quote:

Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
I've never known anyone at any age who really listened to their elders, no matter whether they were positive or negative features in their lives.



I can't think of a single person I know who didn't.




In terms of "this is your grandmother, she has good stories" then yes. In terms of "don't do this or that?" I doubt it. Kids are their own persons and they're pretty stubborn about the choices they make, whether it's burning their hand on the stove or eating cookies before dinner.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 7:21 AM

FREMDFIRMA


Quote:

Originally posted by canttakesky:
Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval.


Not unknown to me, but yeah - I can only hope it manages to crack the dome of denial and self-justification existing around our disastrous status quo.

Also worthy of note is a book by Maia Szalavitz and Doc Perry.
Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Love-Empathy-Essential---Endangered/dp/0061
656798/ref=sr_1_1


But we've known, a lot of us have, for a long, long time - I know of articles and editorials on this topic dating back to 1748, and yet the Dobson-Ezzo model of Black Pedagogy and Force-Fear compliance hasn't shifted much in all that time.
One can only hope that we are, as human beings, finally ready to be HUMANE beings.

Quote:

“As long as the child will be trained not by love, but by fear, so long will humanity live not by justice, but by force. As long as the child will be ruled by the educator’s threat and by the father’s rod, so long will mankind be dominated by the policeman’s club, by fear of jail, and by panic of invasion by armies and navies.”

Boris Sidis, from “A lecture on the abuse of the fear instinct in early education” in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1919.


-Frem

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 8:08 AM

STORYMARK


Quote:

Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
Quote:

Originally posted by Storymark:
Quote:

Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
I've never known anyone at any age who really listened to their elders, no matter whether they were positive or negative features in their lives.



I can't think of a single person I know who didn't.




In terms of "this is your grandmother, she has good stories" then yes. In terms of "don't do this or that?" I doubt it. Kids are their own persons and they're pretty stubborn about the choices they make, whether it's burning their hand on the stove or eating cookies before dinner.



Well, you're the one with self-admitted social problems.

Im the one who works with kids ages 2-19, as well as their parents. And yes, you can often see huge parallels between parents and their kids in terms of personality, world view, behavior and other aspects - and an undeniable impact upon the child that is directly related to parental involvement in their lives.

Sometimes good, often bad - but the impact is undeniable.

Im going to stick with what I have personally expeirneced over a misanthrope saying "Nuh-uh."


Note to anyone - Please pity the poor, poor wittle Rappyboy. He's feeling put upon lately, what with all those facts disagreeing with what he believes.

"We will never have the elite, smart people on our side." -- Rick "Frothy" Santorum


"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 8:33 AM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

Well, you're the one with self-admitted social problems.

[...]

I'm going to stick with what I have personally experienced over a misanthrope saying "Nuh-uh."



I actually get along well with my family. I just don't listen to them when it comes to making my own choices. Never have. I also don't really have much in common with them and they don't actually know anything about me because the concept of emotional intimacy repulses me.

But, touché. I'm okay with saying that the proposed parenting method wouldn't have worked for me, without extending that to other people. We can leave it at that.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 11:56 AM

MAGONSDAUGHTER


Quote:

Originally posted by canttakesky:
Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743487486?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&
creativeASIN=0743487486&linkCode=xm2&tag=homesteadingsurvivalism-20


Quote:

Most parenting guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking, "What do kids need -- and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them.

One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including "time-outs"), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send.

More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from "doing to" to "working with" parenting -- including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.



Haven't read the book, but I like this idea.





Sounds like my kind of parenting.

Not to diss you for posting this in any way, CTS, but its not really that groundbreaking. Stuff like this has been written about for at least a couple of decades, its just that people are kind of committed to thinking of parenting in the punishment/rewards kind of way, which I think it fundamentally morally bankrupt.

There is plenty of good writing, research based, around raising emotionally intelligent kids, supporting kids emotionally, allowing them to develop and grow into their own beings (rather than trying to mould them into an ideal)

If only parents would focus on developing and growing their relationship with their kids, rather than focusing on fixing their faults. To me, this is a carry over from religious beliefs around original sin. Children are born tainted, and if left uncorrected, will be inherently bad. Depressing stuff.

A lof of psychology refers to children who are too well behaved and the damage that this causes them in adult life, feeling that love is conditional on them pleasing (exactly what this author says.

Nice find. I might even buy it.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012 12:27 PM

CANTTAKESKY


Quote:

Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
but its not really that groundbreaking.

Um, yeah. Anyone who's ever read anything written by Frem knows that. Rutchsky and Miller have been writing popular books on this topic since the late 70's.

I've been on this board for almost 10 years. It's a recurrent theme here. Happily.


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