89 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Important book riddled with hyperbole, anecdotal evidence, July 16, 2008
This review is from: A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting (Hardcover)
Invasive parenting is a thought provoking topic that, as a parent, I wanted to explore. I willingly bought into Marano's thesis that "hothouse" parenting is prevalent and problematic. But recurring problems plagued Marano's arguments throughout the book and turned this believer into a skeptic.
Let me first say that this book makes a lot of sensational claims that, to be credible, must be backed-up with either statistics or expert opinion. And that's where Marano's treatise begins to struggle.
Ms. Marano saturates most of her chapters with hyperbole dressed as fact. By chapter 8, she's making claims that seem fantastic beyond belief. After a few dozen lines like, "By all accounts, psychological distress is rampant on college campuses," you start wondering if it's really as bad as she claims or if Marano is exaggerating because she believes we won't respond to her fire unless it's a 4-alarmer. She throws out what seem to be big numbers, but seldom contrasts them with numbers from 20, 30 or 40 years ago, so it's hard to assess trends (though Marano assures us that things are much worse today than ever before).
So to settle the question, you have to appeal to her evidence, which is too often thin and/or suspect. Marano has an affinity for the anecdotal: "I have talked to counselors and directors of campus counseling centers across the country. From every single one I heard horror stories of sexual and psychological abuse." Not that I don't believe Ms. Marano, but a serious claim like that needs a foundation--names, numbers, specific examples--and she often provides none.
To be sure, the book has a decent sized bibliography, but it's chuck-full of a small handful of fellow psychologists that she cites over and over. Worse yet, she frequently cites herself as an evidential reference! Yikes! For example, in the "by all accounts" line I quoted above, she only cites two accounts, one of which is an article that she wrote for a magazine. She even references her writing (sans page numbers) in Nation of Wimps. That's right, the book cites itself in it's own bibliography. Unbelievable! If the book is its own evidence, why bother with a bibliography? Don't get me wrong, home cooking is good...when it's food.
I really wanted to get behind this book, but it just doesn't pass the smell test. I think she's got some good points around an important, timely topic (and some good suggestions in the last chapter), for which I'll give her 3 stars. But after reading her book, I'm convinced that Marano went for effect over facts. The sensationalism and suspect evidence were too much for me.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Reading for Parents, Counselors, Teachers, Administrators, and Anyone!, May 14, 2008
This review is from: A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting (Hardcover)
As a university student affairs administrator for 38 years, I have observed generational changes over the years and the change, over about the past decade, in the role and involvement of parents. In "A Nation of Wimps," Hara Marano has produced an extraordinary analysis of the phenomenon of the invasive parent and how that parent has marched through the K-12 halls, over the walls of college ivy, and on into the job interview and orientation rooms. This book is filled with remarkable insight, skillful analysis, illustrative quotes, and poignant examples. Marano has convincingly argued a case for the "benefits of the skinned knee" and the pitfalls of the helicopter, stealth bomber, and snowplow parent. This book is must reading for all who care about the positive development and growth of children and the generations to come.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An extended essay with a lot of repetition, August 17, 2008
This review is from: A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting (Hardcover)
The major theme that wealthier children are weakened by overprotection is compelling, but the idea is belabored to full out the 264 pages. That said, there are more hits than misses. Higher income parents would be well served by reading and taking seriously the idea that too much sheltering of children makes them fragile and unable to face adult life. Ms Marano has very solid critiques of perfectionism and the parental quest for disability status for their children. I have taught public schools and have seen how much damage has been done by the disability industry: damage to children, schools and society. There are fine discussions of real versus imagined risk in chapter 4, on the damage done by cell phones in chapter 9 and on the need for stress in chapter 10. On the miss side, chapter 5 goes overboard on the benefit of unsupervised play, chapter 8 sounds strident alarms about college life as if there weren't problems in the 60s when I was there, and the school described in chapter 12 would only convince people who have never taught school.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
