The Parents We Mean to Be

Raising moral, happy children without too much or too little parenting.

Richard Weissbourd is a child and family psychologist on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and School of Education. See full bio

November 9, 2009

Moral Adults: Moral Children

In the Brother's Grimm fairy tale, "The Old Grandfather and the Grandson," a young married couple has grown tired of the husband's father, who lives with them, and who has become increasingly feeble. They stop inviting him to the dinner table and begin feeding him small portions from a dishpan. Read More

September 8, 2009

Sports Parents II: Creating Strong Parent-Coach Relationships

These days the relationship between parents and their children's sport coaches is often troubled. Coaches sometimes feel heavily scrutinized and patronized by parents whom they see as badly biased and as lacking the knowledge to judge them. Read More

July 21, 2009

The Morally Mature Sports Parent

In resarching my book--and I spoke to parents from many parts of this country as well as from Canada and Australia- there was nothing easier than to find stories about parents who acted like idiots at children's sporting events. Read More

June 23, 2009

Why Teaching Values Isn't Enough

These days we hear a lot of talk about teaching kids values. According to a major survey by the organization Public Agenda, more than six in ten American adults identified "as a very serious problem" young people's failure to learn fundamental moral values, including honesty, respect, and responsibility for others. Read More

May 26, 2009

Changing the Goal of Child Raising

Both my research-- and other studies-- suggest that American parents and children view happiness and self-esteem as the main aims of development, often placing happiness above morality. Read More

April 15, 2009

Ten Tips for Raising Kids Who Care

Almost all parents want their children to be good people and to be happy. Read More

April 1, 2009

Why Are We Praising Our Children So Much?

These days children are often showered with praise. Spend just a little time on a playground, a sports field, or in a classroom, and you'll inevitably hear adults praising kids for behavior that a generation ago would not have merited notice, such as showing up on time or remembering to do homework. Read More

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Parenting can be the most stressful--and rewarding--job of your life. We can all think of ways we'd do things differently from our parents, and no doubt your kids will find ways they would parent differently from you.

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