Synopses & Reviews
As the parent of an only child, are you frustrated because you find yourself overindulging and overcompensating? Do you treat your child like an adult, overpraise, or overprotect him? Have you expected perfection from your child yet failed to make rules and implement them consistently? If you are not a perfect parent of an only child, you are not alone. Based on the real-life experiences of Carolyn White–editor of
Only Child magazine, parent, and educator–and hundreds of interviews with only children and parents of only children,
The Seven Common Sins of Parenting an Only Child celebrates the special rewards and opportunities of the single-child family and offers a practical (and often humorous) guide for overcoming the most common errors parents can make when rearing an only child.
"Offers sound and practical advice in areas potentially worrisome and problematic for parents of only children."
–Susan Newman, author, Parenting an Only Child: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only
"A clear and helpful guide to parenting the only child. Carolyn White knows whereof she speaks."
–Carl Pickhardt, author, The Everything Parent’s Guide to Positive Discipline
"As an only child, now raising an only child, I am grateful for the insightful and unique perspective this book offers the reader."
–Ira Wohl, psychotherapist, filmmaker, and winner of an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary for Best Boy
Review
“Offers sound and practical advice in areas potentially worrisome and problematic for parents of only children.”--Susan Newman, author,
Parenting an Only Child: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only“A clear and helpful guide to parenting the only child. Carolyn White knows whereof she speaks.”--Carl Pickhardt, author, The Everything Parent’s Guide to Positive Discipline
“As an only child, now raising an only child, I am grateful for the insightful and unique perspective this book offers the reader.”--Ira Wohl, psychotherapist, filmmaker, and winner of an Academy Awardâ for Best Feature Documentary for Best Boy
“A down-to-earth description of the unique dilemmas facing parents of only children. . . . gives only children a voice for their experience.”--Nina Asher, clinical psychologist, child development specialist
“This charming, compassionate guide to raising only children not only grants absolution to parents who have committed one or more or the Seven Sins but also gives practical strategies that offer salvation for the future.”--Nora Malone, head of school, Village School, Pacific Palisades, California
Synopsis
As the parent of an only child, are you frustrated because you find yourself overindulging and overcompensating? Do you treat your child like an adult, overpraise, or overprotect him? Have you expected perfection from your child yet failed to make rules and implement them consistently? If you are not a perfect parent of an only child, you are not alone. Based on the real-life experiences of Carolyn White—editor of Only Child, parent, and educator—and hundreds of interviews with only children and parents of only children, The Seven Common Sins of Parenting an Only Child celebrates the special rewards and opportunities of the single-child family and offers a practical (and often humorous) guide for overcoming the most common errors parents can make when rearing an only child.
About the Author
Carolyn White is editor in chief of Only Child magazine, which has been featured in Time, Newsweek International, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Economist, The Los Angeles Times, and on CNN national and international news and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
Table of Contents
Foreword ix
Kirsten Smith
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. Overindulgence 11
Material Overindulgence
Emotional Overindulgence
How Parents Can Avoid Overindulging Their Only Child
Self-Test
2. Overprotection 35
Why Only Children Are Often Overprotected
Learning to Let Go
Building Confidence
How Parents Can Avoid Overprotecting Their Only Child
Self-Test
3. Failure to Discipline 61
The Importance of Limits
Building Better Discipline
Defining Discipline
Making Discipline Work with a Young Only Child
Making Discipline Work with a Preadolescent Only Child
Making Discipline Work with an Adolescent Only Child
How Parents Can Avoid Discipline Anxiety
Self-Test
4. Overcompensation 93
Types of Guilt and Overcompensation
What Parents Can Do About Guilt and Overcompensation
How Parents Can Avoid Overcompensation
Self-Test
5. Seeking Perfection 113
How Only-Child Parents Can Apply Pressure
Consequences of Perfectionism
How Parents Can Avoid Destructive Perfectionism
Self-Test
6. Treating Your Child like an Adult 135
How Parents Can Prevent Childhood
Consequences of Adultifying an Only Child
How Parents Can Avoid Adultifying Their Only Child
Self-Test
7. Overpraising 159
Praising an Only Child Too Much
Making Up for Lost Time
Common Ways to Overpraise
Consequences of Overpraising an Only Child
Benefits of Appropriate Praise
How Parents Can Avoid Overpraising Their Only Child
Self-Test
Epilogue 183
Notes 185
Resources 187
About the Author 189