Product Description

Parents often confuse love with overindulgence, afraid to subject their children to a moment of frustration or deprive them of anything they might desire. But in order to become resilient and responsible adults, children must learn that they can't always get their way.

Since motherhood is now her most important role, beloved actress Marilu Henner has often turned to Dr. Ruth Velikovsky Sharon, a highly respected psychoanalyst, for advice on raising her own children. This practical, accessible guidebook that they've compiled together shows parents how to:

• Establish parent-child contracts and effective methods of discipline
• Handle temper tantrums, bedtime issues, sibling rivalry, lying, and much more
• Help their children tolerate frustration and become comfortable with difficult feelings

Filled with dozens of real-life questions, practical advice, and humorous anecdotes, I Refuse to Raise a Brat is a witty and useful resource to help parents raise secure and self-reliant children.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1036194 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-21
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .66" h x 6.99" w x 8.92" l, .89 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
Marilu Henner, costar of the TV sitcom Taxi turned bestselling self-help author, has a strong message for doting parents: stop spoiling your children. Many of today's moms and dads confuse placating with loving, spurred by a desire to give their kids the world on a silver platter. Cowritten by Henner (mother of two boys) and her personal psychoanalyst Dr. Ruth Sharon, I Refuse to Raise a Brat explores the long-term effects of overgratifying youngsters and offers a wealth of situational advice.

Henner and Sharon theorize that a child's ability to balance independence and cooperation directly results from the parent-child relationship; too much negotiation, too many toys, exaggerated praise, and overprotection do not help that child in the long run. Instead of learning compliance, the child will learn that everything is open to discussion; in place of gratitude, the child learns greed (either physical greed for more "stuff" or emotional greed for more of the spotlight); and instead of feeling safe, the child will learn helplessness.

The women incorporate a question/answer style throughout their book's 12 somewhat disjointed chapters. Questions such as "Our 18-month old wakes up at five every morning and then he wants to play. What do I do?" receive a practical two- to four-sentence response from Dr. Sharon (Answer: "Don't blame your baby.... If he gets nine or ten hours' sleep, he has every right to wake up at 5 a.m.") Then Marilu responds--sometimes serious, often with a humorous anecdote or one-liner, or at times with a completely unrelated comment. Perhaps not the most authoritative resource, this book will still please, inform, and strike familiar chords in parents who seek nonphysical ways to gain and keep respect. --Liane Thomas

From Library Journal
Actress Henner, who entered the realm of authorship with a couple of health books, now offers her advice on parenting. A supporter of psychoanalyst Ruth Sharon, Henner's basic philosophy is that children are overindulged and thus do not develop into independent adults. Through a Q&A format, Henner relates Sharon's theories about many childhood concerns such as sleep and discipline, adding anecdotes from her own experiences with her two preschool-age sons. Like other books of this nature, this one has some nuggets of useful advice. The overall presentation, however, is impractical with its black-and-white view of parenting. While real-life examples can personalize otherwise dry information, Henner becomes grating and self-serving when talking about her own children. In addition, she provides misleading information about breastfeeding. The most interesting portions are her memories of her own colorful childhood, making the listener hope that Henner's next writing venture will be an autobiography. While this program can supplement well-rounded parenting collections, it should not replace more comprehensive manuals.
-Susan McCaffrey, Haslett H.S., MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The TV actress and health book author uses her considerable charm to make a classic pitch about parenting--that children become more competent when we don't overindulge them or try to make them comfortable all the time. She says that closeness is necessary but that it can do harm if it lowers our expectations of our children. Don't let your children bully you into protecting them; let them discover the world on their own and grow from the experience. Henner is a warm and balanced speaker, and the advice is illustrated so well that you'll want to listen again. T.W. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine