Sasu reviewed Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
The Arguments of _Punished by Rewards_ Refined for Parenting
5 stars
If I remember correctly, Alfie Kohn promised in Punished by Rewards to report on what he'd learned from applying the ideas in that book to parenting, and Unconditional Parenting is the result. Being myself a father of two and deeply interested in doing the best I can, I have now read quite a few books of parenting advice. Unconditional Parenting is one of the very few parenting books I have read which address the topic on both a moral and intellectual level and remaining consistent, self-reflective, and committed while doing so.
The strength of this book is in the way Kohn presents an analysis of the current environment as well as a sketch of what the ideal situation looks like while at the same time remaining authentic himself (or at least appearing to do so) and providing examples from his own experience. What we get is a relatively simple …
If I remember correctly, Alfie Kohn promised in Punished by Rewards to report on what he'd learned from applying the ideas in that book to parenting, and Unconditional Parenting is the result. Being myself a father of two and deeply interested in doing the best I can, I have now read quite a few books of parenting advice. Unconditional Parenting is one of the very few parenting books I have read which address the topic on both a moral and intellectual level and remaining consistent, self-reflective, and committed while doing so.
The strength of this book is in the way Kohn presents an analysis of the current environment as well as a sketch of what the ideal situation looks like while at the same time remaining authentic himself (or at least appearing to do so) and providing examples from his own experience. What we get is a relatively simple set of principles or guidelines to work from and with that allow working with the context of each situation rather than something to be applied legalistically or mechanistically.
I listened to this book because I recognized that I was stuck in more-or-less reactive parenting behavior which was stressful for everyone involved without really addressing the underlying issues. Being reminded of a better way to do things hasn't exactly made the challenges in my family life disappear, but even this little push has already made a significant difference in the extent to which I manage to embody the principles of nonviolence in family life.