November 23, 2009

Book Review: The Well-Behaved Child

The Well Behaved Child by John Rosemond is, as the title suggests, a parenting book. In it the author enthusiastically challenges parents to return to the philosophy of their parents and grandparents, before the "psychobabble" of the sixties took over the culture.

Rosemond starts with a shocking premise: Children are bad. Of course this will only be shocking to those who have never had a two-year-old, or, if they have, it was so long ago they have forgotten what it was like. With this premise firmly on place, he proceeds to offer seven "fundamentals of effective discipline". Highlighted among these are the "agony principle" and the "godfather principle".

The Agony Principle

Parents should not agonize over anything a child does or fails to do if the child is perfectly capable of agonizing over it himself.

The Godfather Principle

To activate the Agony Principle, you simply make the misbehaving, irresponsible child an offer he can't refuse.

After laying down the basic principles the author provides specific tools and methods (charts, tickets, etc) to help implement the principles. The book is chock full of anecdotal accounts, mostly of parents who implemented the principles with impressive results. Rosemond's style is witty, conversational, and especially biting--especially when he touches on the prevailing "psychobabble".

Before receiving this book via the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program I had never heard of John Rosemond. Before I was halfway through the book I had decided to add every book he had written to my wishlist. As the father of an eight-year-old and a three-year-old, I began to see areas where my parenting skills needed honing. Of special interest to me was the section where he describes how to get your child to do his homework without a parent at his side. Others may find interesting the sections about potty training, tantrums and other, more bizarre behavior.

It was refreshing to read Rosemond's rejection of medicated treatments for behavioral problems. He is merciless in his criticisms of those who perpetrate this travesty on American families.

There are times when Rosemond seems to exaggerate in order to make his point. But his point--that American families need desperately to return to common-sense, biblical parenting methods--is well worth making.

If you have kids, or know someone who does, you owe it to yourself to read The Well-Behaved Child.

This review was written in participation with the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. Though I do receive a free book for my participation, I am under absolutely no pressure to write a positive review.

Posted by Andrew on November 23, 2009 5:34 PM.