Family of Value [Paperback]

John Rosemond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

John Rosemond's A Family of Value presents a critical view of the child care literature of the past quarter century and argues for an end to overindulgent parenting and a return to the goal of instilling moral values, such as responsibility, respectfulness, and resourcefulness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rosemond, who rails against dangerous, pervasive liberal parenting values and has, according to his publisher, 400,000 copies of his books in print, writes columns for mainstream magazines and newspapers and hosts a daily radio talk show. With such a following, he can hardly be the "heretic" he calls himself. Nor is there much revelatory material in his sixth book (after To Spank or Not to Spank), which promotes his beliefs that children want limits, must be taught that they are not the center of the universe and need to learn resourcefulness and responsibility. Rosemond dresses up this conventional wisdom in conservative rhetoric: blaming parental weakness or ambivalence on "ultraliberal social propaganda" (such as the anti-spanking movement), praising Rush Limbaugh and Phyllis Schlafly while vilifying Hillary Clinton and the National Education Association, and waxing rhapsodic about the good old days when no one considered blessing homosexual unions and when busy mothers were able calmly to tell their children, "Leave me alone." Rosemond seems not to understand that today's parents struggle with their authority because they are without a paradigm to replace the often despotic practices of their parents. There's plenty of wisdom here, but it's delivered in a self-congratulatory, often patronizing tone.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Confidently proclaiming himself a heretic opposed to democratizing the child-parent relationship, Rosemond presents his sixth parenting guide as a celebration of the American family of the 1950s and his contribution to a return to the commonsense values that characterized child rearing at that time. The middle section of the book, in which Rosemond advises on raising respectful, responsible, and resourceful children, gains its authority through encouraging parental self-confidence, common sense, and self-control. The initial section, however, with its frankly conservative analysis of social decline, school failure, and misguided parenting advice from experts, is not nearly as useful because it is both general in scope and inflammatory in tone. The final section provides specific answers to the most frequently asked questions. Rosemond is a frequent lecturer whose fans will enjoy his latest salvo, and even those who disagree with his philosophy will find this resource of his practical techniques for child rearing useful. Kathryn Carpenter

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836205057
• ISBN-13: 978-0836205053
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Parent & Adult Child

More About the Author

John Rosemond is a family psychologist who has both directed mental health programs and been in full-time private practice working with families and children. Since 1990, he has devoted his time to speaking and writing. John's weekly syndicated parenting column now appears in some 250 newspapers. Along the way, he's also managed to write eleven bestselling books on parenting and the family. As if that wasn't enough, he is one of the busiest and most popular speakers in his field, giving over 200 talks a year to parent and professional groups nationwide. He and his wife of 39 years, Willie, have two grown children and six well-behaved grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, April 27, 2006

By 

A reader (Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family of Value (Paperback)

This book is a must-read. Some of the advice should be handed out in the maternity ward (TV, toys..)The chapters of respect, responsibility and resourcefulness are packed with good points and valuable information.

The only point is that parenting "accoring to grandma" is pretty soon going to have to be changed to parenting accoring to "great grandma." A lot of us parents now were born in the late '60 and '70s.

Now, I will warn readers that Rosemond certainly has a conservative slant, so be aware of that. But please don't pass it up due to that. Read around those parts if you don't like them. It is also worth pointing out that despite a strong conservative overtone, this book does not bash working or single mothers. This book is also VERY pro-father, which is nice to see for a change. The book makes it very clear that dads DO matter!

As a mother with a large family by today's standards (5 children), there is no way I would stay sane using today's "psychological" parenting methods. A Family of Value book is the only parenting book that I have read that actually gives pareting tips that I can apply. So much of the "psycological" parenting advice is so tedious and requires so much thinking about every little thing that I gave up due to it being so overwhelming and time consuming. The tips in this parenting book, however, are simple, clear, common sense and WORK. If I seriously tried to be a parent of today and thought I had to spend hours on the floor with each child (separatly) and had to make charts for this and that and had to pay 2K a month for this and that activity for 5 kids, I would be in the looney bin. Thanks, Mr. Rosemond, for letting me and other parents it is OK to not do all this stuff.

The book's strong points are in emphasizing: the importance of not doing too much for your child, the downside of TV and video games, teaching children the value of money, the downside of overscheduling, the importance of play with peers as opposed to too much play with adults, the value of teaching childen not to interrupt adult conversation, why you should not bail your child out of all problems, and the importance of putting your marriage first. The book is very marriage oriented saying that a strong one is the best thing you can do for your child(ren).

Other valuable points that I wish were emphasized more: the importance of reading daily with your child, family dinner importance, and the value of doing activities as a family (game night, weekend trips etc.). I know Rosemond supports these things, I just wish more had been mentioned about them in this book.

18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for Parents and Teachers!, September 2, 2004

By 

James Brock "Doctor Brock" (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family of Value (Paperback)

My pastor and mentor gave me "A Family of Value" by John Rosemond last year at the beginning of the school year. I work as a school disrict psychologist and so I see a lot of behavior issues in children. Most often, parents come in for a meeting and are looking for resources and tools that they can use to better teach and raise their children. Because I live in the Midwest, most of these families have Chrisitian values. I have been able to make a positive change in these children by giving their parents "A Family of Value."

John Rosemond gives clear direction on how to teach your children something as basic as respect. No psychological double talk, just clear, scripture-based advice that is easy to implement in today's world. Be ready to check yourself too. You are your child's role model, and Rosemond wants you to look in the mirror and make sure you are being the kind of parent that earns respect.

I suggest buying Matt Pasquinilli's book, "The Child Whisperer" and read it with "A Family of Value." Pasquinilli's book is short and simple and gets quickly to the point. Pasquinilli will teach you how to talk to children and how to overcome your child's defiance with love and simple communication. These two books together will help you to better parent your children.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book., June 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Family of Value (Paperback)

I love this book! My copy's got many dog-eared and highlighted pages. Rosemond is a smart, savvy parent educator. His concepts and philosophy are right-on target. Just one word of caution - he can be a bit on the tough side, so temper what you read with your own common sense. That said, it's very worth your time to give it a read. For a great, practical parenting book, based on positive, purposeful discipline, I'd also recommend: Perfect Parenting, The Dictionary of 1000 Parenting Tips by Elizabeth Pantley