Parenting 2.0: Think in the Future, Act in the Now

Counselor and parenting strategist Ferrara hopes to provide a framework in which parents can “design, create, and direct” the functioning of their family, but these short essays on a diverse selection of topics—loosely organized into 18 brief chapters—unfortunately skimp on specific, fact-based advice. The author assures readers that parents have not become obsolete, and that parenting is the “next big killer app,” which must compete with other factors in children’s lives. Ferrara suggests that a family unit should be like a collaborative database—a wiki—where parents will “influence, not dominate” their children. The message here is that old-fashioned parenting techniques are failing children, so moms and dads need to embrace fast-shifting social dynamics. If they realize, for example, that punishment is a method, but discipline is an outcome, they can upgrade their kids’ “time-outs” to parental “time-ins.” Despite Ferrara’s call for parental competence, it’s only in the last chapter that readers will encounter a helpful tool, the “Nine Evolutionary Principles for Parenting with Possibility,” a list of fundamental parenting concepts that would benefit from additional discussion. (Sept.)