Leonard Sax's The Collapse Of Parenting

523 Words2 Pages

In the introductory chapter, specifically pages 3-10, of Leonard Sax’s book The Collapse of Parenting, Sax discusses the topic of the power of parents being given to the children. I completely agree with this statement and its entirety. Today, many parents allow their children to do as they please with no repercussions. We witness this daily with children causing trouble and not being disciplined at home. Parents have completely lost their way, but it isn’t limited to a single subgroup of the population. We can see parents that are both wealthy and poor, educated, and uneducated, and so on.
There are generally four types to the spectrum of parenting; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. Authoritarian parents are the overly strict and demanding parents. Authoritative parents are the ones that want their child to be responsible and make their own decisions but also know when intervention is needed. Permissive parents are the ones that “give in” and allow their child to have the power but are nurturing for their children. Finally, the uninvolved parents are the ones that are detached and do not emotionally engage. …show more content…

They still care about their children but are not providing the discipline or demands to challenge the child. In the introductory chapter, Sax explain that Janet witnessed Ms. Stoltz picking up her child. Her kid got into the car and said “Turn around. Shut up. Drive” (Sax, 2016). This has two perceptions; one being that the child might have wanted to get away from Janet because of her, and her husbands, use of a breathalyzer at a party and the obvious embarrassment that could cause to be seen near her; and two, the child has no respect for his mother. There was no discipline or scolding for his blatant disrespect. The child, as Sax also states, has the authority, not the

Open Document