Shares key insights on motherhood as well as parenting strategies

books:


	• The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of ... Madeline Levine HarperCollins, 2006 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 37 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Not just for rich kids

Am writing this review for my wife who won't take the time to put this book down since picking it up yesterday. She's shown me enough bits and pieces that I'll do the writing.
When I first saw the title, I sighed. Another book on poor, spoiled rich kids.
We don't think of ourselves as "affluent" but our children certainly are privileged and Dr. Levine gets right to the point. The issue isn't money, but what we do and what we neglect to do for our kids. More time, the wonderful phrase "inviting, listening presence" and less time sticking our noses into every bit of our kids lives. I particualry liked the clear suggestions about how to handle the inevitable problems of adolesence and the difficulties of being parent whether one has a few extra bucks or is just making ends meet.

A good book not only for the "affluent" but for anyone who has paid enough attention to know that all is not right with our culture, values and parenting skills.
Highly recommended.

for more information click here

Where was this book when I needed it 5 or 10 years ago?

I picked this book up almost by accident. But boy, am I glad I did. In "The Price of Privilege" (246 pages), author Madeline Levine, an accomplished psychologist who excels in dealing with troubled teenagers, examines the dangers and effects of teenagers growing up in an affluent environment. ("Affluent" is defined as a household earning $120,000 and more.)

I have to say that I was blown away by the observations in this book, even if, thankfully, I certainly have not experienced the worst-case scenarios described in this book with my own kids, who are now 19 and 16. Among many other things, Levine explains how "rewarding" kids by promising material things ("if you get an "A" on your test, I will buy you X or Y") has a long-term negative effect on kids. Levine also goes into depth about internal vs. external motivation, and why praise is often "bad" warmth for kids. As to "chasing perfection", Levine observes that "the pursuit of perfection is a diversion from the messiness of real life". So true! The main proposition made by the author is that, while of course it is important that we put our kids in a position to get good grades, even more important is that we help our kids with building their inner "self", which will prepare them for the long term. Reason why overinvolvement in our kids' lives is actually counterproductive.

I cannot emphasize enough what a wonderful job Levine does in describing the dangers of putting too much pressure on our kids. Which does not mean that she endorses a "slacker" attitude either. This book is about how we can best prepare our affluent kids for the long term. And it's not like the author is making a hypothetical or theoretical or academic case, giving ample real life evidence from her own practice and from studies around the country. I certainly recognized mistakes I have made, which I now wish I could've avoided, making me wonder wishfully, where was this book when I really needed it 5 or 10 years ago...

for more information click here

Great insights for parents living in competitive communities

I bought this book after hearing about it on the Diane Rehm show on NPR. The book is a mix of research summaries, case studies, and the author's insights.

As a parent who hates to discipline, the book was a good reminder of why discipline is necessary and also why it is so difficult. The book made me reflect on many other issues - including the difference between spending time with my kids and connecting with them. The book also did a great job in describing why providing an environment where a child can work on his/her inner self is very important, and that pressuring a child to excel in various areas may be counterproductive.

As mentioned in other reviews, this book is written with compassion rather than criticism for parents, particularly with sensitivity to issues of mothers in today's world.

for more information click here

From a grateful mom

While most of the reviews have focused on Dr. Levine's acumen in dealing with teens, I have to say that this book was most helpful to me because of the way it deals with the problems of moms. I have two daughters, one troubled, one not. I've always been made to feel that my troubled daughter is somehow the result of awful parenting decisions I've made. Dr. Levine has helped me sort out the mistakes I've made, both with my daughter and myself, while maintaing perspective about the fact that not all things are in my control. Her warmth comes through on every page (not incidentally, she considers warmth "the silver bullet" of healthy relationships). But also her ability to stand in the shoes of often beleagured moms, without being critical or condescending, makes it easy to take her advice.
Makes me wish she wish she lived down the street. Great and useful and ultimately optimistic book.

for more information click here

Shares key insights on motherhood as well as parenting strategies

As someone who has studied motherhood intensively for four years (and lived it for seven!) I wish I had a 10-star review in my back pocket to award to "The Price of Privilege." Dr. Madeline Levine provides a compelling body of work to fill in a missing piece of the current round of discussions about modern parenting among privileged families. Through my own work and life experience, I have come to the realization that highly educated, professional women face a specific set of challenges when they make the transition to motherhood. Our culture makes it very difficult to stay authentic to our selves and avoid the traps of perfectionism. Dr. Levine does women a real service by taking these challenges seriously rather than dismissing them. Contrary to much popular wisdom, she describes a generation of upper-middle-class kids as a new type of "at risk" child who is particularly prone to emotional disorders. (In a radio interview she said that these kids had previously been used as a control group in studies of low-income "at risk" kids, until the researchers astutely observed that the privileged kids had challenges of their own.) "The Price of Privilege" will be appreciated by readers in different ways. Levine draws upon her 25 years of clinical work with teens to provide perspective and developmentally appropriate parenting strategies. For readers with teenagers, the focus on the kids may be most appropriate. For parents of younger children, I highly recommend the book for the chapter on mothering, "Having Everything Except What We Need Most: The Isolation of Affluent Moms." In the media, the concerns of affluent women are often dismissed as whining and complaining from a group of women who "have it all." Dr. Levine gives these concerns her compassionate attention. She skillfully negotiates the boundary between bringing these concerns to light while doing her best to avoid blaming women for all that is wrong in families. Levine says that "My hope is that every mother who reads this chapter feels the sense of relief that comes when what we intuitively know to be true is recognized and validated." Thank you, Madeline Levine, for putting new life and gravitas into the old saying, "When Mama ain't happy, nobody ain't happy."

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Really Informative Books for Parents
Non_Fiction That Struck my Fancy
Education Matters!
Be a Great parent
Mom Like Me....

search for books
price of privilege, advantage, creating, disconnected, generation, material, parental, privilege

Impressum / about us