Here are six parenting myths condensed from the book by John Rosemond entitled “The Six Point Plan For Raising Happy Healthy Children.”
1. Children should come first. Parents in today’s society coddle their children and place children even ahead of their marriage and literally spoil them rather than let the children have free time to play and be creative and simply be children.
2. The family is a democracy. He feels that the family is not a democracy and that ultimately the parent must be the boss and make decisions. He feels it is ok to say “because I say so”, or “because I’m the parent and making decisions is my responsibility.”
3. Housework is for parents only. He feels that all children should have chores around the house from the time they are three years old and by eighteen should be able to run a home.
4. Frustration is bad for children. He feels that children need a regular dose of vitamin “n” or the word “no” in response to requests for every thing material that American children have come to expect.
5. The more toys kids have the better. Children with the most toys tend to be the most bored children and lose appreciation for most toys. Parents feel their kids need the latest toys for their self esteem but actually they would be much better off playing with rocks, pine cones, boxes and paper bags and using their imagination.
6. My kids don’t watch too much TV. The average American preschool child watches 28 hours of TV a week which does many harmful things to them including inhibiting their imagination, curiosity, motivation, reasoning and attention span. Perhaps the apparent high increase in school related problems and Attention Deficit Disorder may be partly connected to this heavy TV input in our young children’s lives in our society today.
In summary, Mr. Rosemond feels that common sense approach to be refreshing. To reemphasize a few points: parents can best help their children by giving them time, not toys; by controlling T.V.; and by teaching them responsibility through chores.