General Description
Psychiatrist Cline and educator Fay’s “Love and Logic” parenting method advocates raising responsible children through practice. “Helicopter” parents hover around their children while “drill sergeant” parents give orders to theirs, they claim. Neither of these styles permits children to learn how to make choices and learn from the consequences. The result is that as early as adolescence these children too often make bad decisions. In the context of a healthy, loving relationship, “Love and Logic” parents teach their children responsibility and the logic of life by solving their own problems, providing skills for coping in the real world. After laying out the principles of “Love and Logic,” the authors provide “parenting pearls,” which are strategies for applying the method to actual situations such as back-seat battles in the car, homework, and keeping bedrooms clean.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Why the President Should Read This Book
Not because the President is our father and we are his children, nor to take the concept of a “nanny state” that much further, but rather because this book teaches how to communicate effectively and contains many illustrations of human nature. Any effective politician must learn how to say “no” to his constituents in the right way, must understand that the best leaders are those who nurture responsible followers who will become leaders, and who sometimes allow “bad” things to happen to good people when the long-term consequences are for the best, and similarly sometimes prevents “good” things from happening when the benefits are short-term at best, and the long-term consequences are not positive.