Spoil or Control: How to Raise a Happy Child

Today, many parents have rushed into another educational extreme: it has become the norm to endlessly spoil the child, support and praise them at every step, trying not to upset them and not to criticize them for anything. In words, this sounds humane, but in practice it can turn out to be no less harmful to the psyche of future adults than the strict authoritarianism characteristic of past generations. Children who do not learn independence and do not encounter reasonable boundaries often grow up to be infantile and emotionally immature.

Robin Berman, a licensed psychotherapist and mother of three, offers a way to combine the strengths of the “old” and “new” approaches to parenting. In the book, she shows how to express love and care in a way that helps a child grow into a confident, independent, and happy person—someone capable of loving, building healthy relationships, and bringing joy to others.