Twenty-five years after it was first published, David
Elkind has written a new introduction to this parenting
classic. Although they have the very best intentions at
heart, parents sometimes expose their children to
overwhelming pressures, pressures that can lead to low
self-esteem, to teenage pregnancy and even to teenage
suicide. By blurring the boundaries of what is age
appropriate, by expecting - or imposing - too much too
soon, we force our kids to grow up too fast, to mimic
adult sophistication while secretly yearning for
innocence. With the first edition of ''The Hurried
Child'', David Elkind emerged as the voice of reason,
calling our attention to the crippling effects of
hurrying. But in the more than two decades since this
book first appeared, new generations of parents have
inadvertently stepped up the assault on childhood, in
the media, in schools and at home. In the third edition
of this classic (2001), Dr. Elkind took a detailed,
up-to-the-minute look at the Internet, classroom
culture, school violence, movies, television and a
growing societal incivility to show parents and teachers
where hurrying occurs and why.And as before, he offered
parents and teachers alike insight, advice and hope for
encouraging healthy development while protecting the joy
and freedom of childhood. In this twenty-fifth
anniversary edition, Dr. Elkind delivers a new
introduction that puts 25 years of trends and change
into perspective for parents today. |
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