Michael Thompson, Ph.D.

How to Raise Responsible Children

Abstract

Dr. Thompson mixes anecdote and clinical experience with research on the outcomes of different parenting styles and comes up with a warm-hearted recipe for providing children with an internal foundation for moral behavior. Early in life every child needs a “secure base;” later a child needs a “framework” around him. Only when he feels securely anchored and contained will a child be able to follow rules consistently. How can a parent provide consistency and how can he or she successfully communicate with his or her child around issues of responsibility? What do we know about the different outcomes of democratic, authoritative and authoritarian parenting? Which method of parenting produces the most competent child? Many parents have heard this talk and felt affirmed and challenged by it. Many teen-agers have heard it and have had to admit that it probably is….well…right.