Hardly a day goes by without parents being warned of a new danger to their children's well-being. High profile campaigns convince us that our childrens health, safety and development are constantly at risk. It is hardly surprising that parents become paranoid, afraid to let their children out of their sight. Even then, they are criticised by one childcare expert or another. It seems that parents can do nothing right. Parents do not know whom they can trust, but one thing is made clear to them - they cannot trust their own judgement. "Paranoid Parenting" investigates contemporary parental anxieties and suggests that these fears are themselves the most damaging influence upon children in modern society. Children are actually physically safer than they have ever been before and perhaps more in danger from the conflicting advice handed out to parents by different generations of "childcare experts". Frank Furedi explains why parents feel paranoid and looks at how they can deal with the insecurity which is fostered by experts and the media. He goes on to give examples and build a case for parents relying more on their own judgement and circumstances.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"In 201 pages he supports what I have suspected all along. There is no such thing as a child-raising expert." -- D.L. Stewart
"[A] provocative attack . . . this is not feel-good stuff. . . . A worthy wake-up call for those of us willing to hear it." -- Washington Post Book World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"[A] provocative attack . . . this is not feel-good stuff. . . . A worthy wake-up call for those of us willing to hear it." -- Washington Post Book World --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Frank Furedi is a professor of sociology at the University of Kent and the author of The Culture of Fear.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Tony is giving up teaching. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tony is giving up teaching. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A. Waker
Format:Paperback
When my husband and I had our first child 7 months ago, we found ourselves under a barrage of advice from friends, family and "experts". Many well meaning friends constantly told us the latest "expert" study and why we should know about it. There is always the underlying idea behind all this advice that if you don't do what the "experts" say your child will be damaged for life.
I found this book so refreshing! In a rare exception to most parenting books, Furedi actually elevates the role of parents over professionals in shaping children! Other books may claim that parents know best, but they then follow it up with endless advice on how parents need to change. Other advice books always point back to the experts as really knowing what is best for a child, and that parents should defer to the latest research and expert advice. Furedi turns this around and shows why the best people to deal with children are parents. Parents are the ones who know children best, and can best meet their needs.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
As a practising health visitor and former midwife I approached this book, subtitled 'Abandon Your Anxieties and be a Good Parent' with some trepidation, fearing it might be another 'how to do it' tomb for anxious parents by yet another 'expert'. This however is refreshingly different because it genuinely attempts to reassure parents that they, not professionals, gurus or politicians are the experts with respect to their children. They are instead encouraged to trusts their own judgement and instincts.
Though the publicity surrounding its publication has concentrated primarily on its importance for parents and (indirectly) children, I think this is also an absolute must for any health professional who gives advice to parents about parenting and childcare issues. This book addresses issues and dilemmas that also arise for us, and puts them into context e.g. cot death, smacking, child safety. It also provides more factual and unbiased information about these issues than do many advocates and campaigners. So long as we don't get defensive, we too can learn a lot from it.
One of the best bits for me is Chapter Three where the author explains that though parenting and family make an important contribution to a child's development, they do not determine its outcome. Other influences - social, cultural and environmental, also play an enormously important part. Ironically, despite the plethora of advice on parenting, little is actually known of its actual impact on children.
The psychologising of child rearing is also discussed. Advice is frequently based on unscientific and conflicting evidence. That this puts parents under so much emotional pressure to get it right, is described in detail. It helpfully situates how this has happened and how health professionals have contributed to it, consciously or otherwise.
This book should become essential reading, not just for parents but also for politicians, experts, gurus and professionals.
Bríd Hehir
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By K. Jenkins
Format:Paperback
Furedi is good when he is pulling apart some of the bad science that surrounds parenting and worryingly makes its way into government policy, particularly when he is looking at sociological trends.
However, in some chapters he seems to wander out of his depth. He is interesting when he talks about hysteria about spanking, but looses the argument when he talks about spanking in the context of a 'warm and responsive' relationship, as though this is honestly when most parents hit their children, rather than when they are at their wit's end. I would agree that there is a tendency to pathologize normal but inconvenient behaviour, however when Furedi starts to suggest that ADHD is the result of parents being reluctant to punish their children he starts to sound like an old lady in a supermarket.
"To a surprising degree, parents have also internalized the stricture to negotiate and to use reason instead of punishment". Really? When Furedi crosses the line into psychological advice, he appears to start making up his own bad science.
However, in some chapters he seems to wander out of his depth. He is interesting when he talks about hysteria about spanking, but looses the argument when he talks about spanking in the context of a 'warm and responsive' relationship, as though this is honestly when most parents hit their children, rather than when they are at their wit's end. I would agree that there is a tendency to pathologize normal but inconvenient behaviour, however when Furedi starts to suggest that ADHD is the result of parents being reluctant to punish their children he starts to sound like an old lady in a supermarket.
"To a surprising degree, parents have also internalized the stricture to negotiate and to use reason instead of punishment". Really? When Furedi crosses the line into psychological advice, he appears to start making up his own bad science.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
Very helpful for my assignment. Very clear to understand. Presents some really strong arguments. Very interesting. Recommended for parents and students :)
Published 3 months ago by Sophie Liddiard
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good parents should follow their instincts. But can everyone?
The author makes a valuable point, but takes quite a long time to do it. There is an industry of professionals and politicians who over-complicate and interfere in the parenting of... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2010 by Dr. R. Spooner
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great ideas, shame about the details
Furedi makes some great points about the consequences of parental overprotectiveness to children's development. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2002 by Saracen
5.0 out of 5 stars
The antidote to all those parenting manuals
If you have read all the 'parenting' manuals and now you are paralysed by fear that you might scar your little loved ones for life by doing the wrong thing, Frank Furedi provides... Read more
Published on 24 April 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent critique of the UK and US parenting industry
If you are concerned with the panic mongering and the distrust expressed by the press and the state in the ability of normal parents to bring up their children - then this is the... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2001
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
