Parental Authority: Dr. Leonard Sax on Our Role

In the past twenty years, research suggests that parents are worrying more about their children and spending more to provide them with comforts. In spite of such worry and wealth, the past twenty years have also seen an increase in these same American-born children from well-to-do families being diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders. Meanwhile, parents tend to swing from overly strict to overly lenient. Balancing love, both tender and tough, is a difficult art. To help us dive deeper into this parental task, we welcome Dr. Leonard Sax to HeightsCast. In the episode, Dr. Sax discusses his book, The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups. Drawing both from the wisdom of the ancients and the insights of modern science, Dr. Sax explains the importance of parental authority in raising children. Besides discussing parenting authority, he also offers thoughts on the importance of culture and schools, urging parents to consider carefully and choose prudently the school to which they will send their children. As Dr. Sax reminds us, authentic freedom is not mere license, and if children are to be free in the end, they must, at the start, have the right amount of parental guidance. To give too much freedom too soon may end in the very loss of the freedom which one would have hoped to give. Chapters 0:30 Introduction 2:15 What is parental authority? 11:00 Parental worries 19:05 Some statistics on psychiatric diagnoses in America 21:30 Parents and the transmission of culture 23:35 The middle class myth 27:52 "Elon Musk" schools vs. "Mother Theresa" schools 32:20 Shifts in American culture from 1967-2017 34:40 Approaching difficult grades as a parent 38:25 Too hard, too soft, or just right: should parents negotiate? 45:50 Advice for single parents 49:10 Fake it until you make it 53:45 The importance of intergenerational bonds Recommended Resources Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Dr. Leonard Sax Why Gender Matters, Second Edition: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know about the Emerging Science of Sex Differences by Dr. Leonard Sax Also on the Forum Discipline in the Classroom: The Art of Order with Colin Gleason Carpool: Making Commute Time Good Time with Kyle Blackmer Friendship for Fathers: Living and Teaching the Art with Prof. John Cuddeback