GIVEN the hype and angst around parenting these days, you'd think it had just been invented.
Once parents gave birth to children and raised them as they saw fit. But now a woman is a helicopter mum if she fusses over her brood; a man happy to let his youngsters walk to school alone is labelled free ranging; while a tiger mum is one who doggedly pushes her offspring to success.
- Growing Great Families: How to bring out the best in your family, by Ian and Mary Grant. Random House, rrp $29.95
That's aside from the stream of research that challenges pre-conceived ideas, or even the well meaning but cutting remarks from a fellow mother.
What is a parent to think?
New Zealand parenting gurus Ian and Mary Grant, who founded Parents Inc, have written Growing Great Families to help.
They agree parenting is more an art than a science, adding that raising a family is more fraught than it used to be. The Grants focus on connection and community, trying to rebalance the ledger in what they consider has become an overly individualistic society.
There are 13 chapters, covering such issues as self control and decision making, providing a moral foundation, and moving to interdependence.
"Whatever parents honour or treat as sacred or special, our children will also honour, whether that is the television, regular family times or sport," they say.
Some of the concepts are grand, but this is a user-friendly read.
