Parent Power: Preserving Your Identity Through Realistic Parenting

Parents who are stressed--even distressed--by the difficult task of child-rearing will take solace in this realistic manual focusing on parents' rights. Chief of pediatrics at AMI Tarzana Medical Center in California, Zukow debunks the myths (e.g., the notion of ``the perfect parent'') that often entrap parents in uncomfortable roles, and asserts, ``Good parenting, effective parenting, is not possible unless you are interested in your own growth as a person.''xi Zukow divides ``enslaved'' parents into two camps: the ``consumed'' parents whose defensive energies are devoured by their manipulative, even tyrannical, children, and the ``consuming'' parents who ``overcontrol'' their powerless children's lives and wind up as surveillance agents. Zukow suggests a golden disciplinary medium for parents: don't bribe, set sensible limits, and allow for the natural consequences of a child's behavior. Chapters on eating habits, sleeping practices, childhood sexuality, and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder provide especially useful information for parents of younger children. Humorous yet sensitive, Zukow's refreshing, straight-shooting approach to child care will encourage parents to look to themselves always as people, and may do their developing children a great service. (Sept.)