George S Glass - The Overparenting Solution: Raising Resourceful Children to Meet Todays Challenges

Praise for The Overparenting Solution

The Overparenting Solution is full of insight and understanding. George S. Glass and David Tabatsky offer great firsthand advice, and the selected episodes Glass shares from his practice are especially poignant. Readers can draw comfort from reading about others who have lived through similar confusing life passages. There is no psychobabble here. Parents today need a sharp and thoughtful wake-up call about raising kids in a changing environment. Anandhi Narasimhan, MD, family psychiatrist, Los Angeles, California

The authors have done us a great service by writing this book. We all remember the scenes where every child gets a trophy and wonder what the long-term effects will be on those children and families. Now we know, and the report is not good. Over-parenting is rampant today and creating a generation of children who may not be prepared to face the future. The authors give us hope that raising creative, healthy, and exciting children is possible. I hope all parents will read this book and use it to improve their parenting skills. Thomas Law, author, Norman, Oklahoma

Glass is a board-certified psychiatrist with years of experience who speaks to his readers in an authentic, conversational tone. The result is a genuinely warm, caring guide through the stormy passages of parenting and all that goes into it in todays constantly changing world. Within a few pages, most readers will feel connected to the authors and sense a comforting, encouraging, and sometimes humorous presence. John J. Hohn, author, Deadly Portfolio and Breached

Here is a bona fide how-to book to help parents navigate this difficult and wonderful thing called parenting. Because Glass and Tabatsky have both been there and done that, they speak with authority and offer personal insights from their own families, which makes the book appealing and helpful. Here are two men who have genuinely learned how to parent! Mark Banschick, family psychiatrist, Katonah, New York

The Overparenting Solution

Please note: the names, occupations, and geographic locations of the individuals depicted in this book reflect real people whose identities have been protected. These anecdotal quotes have been culled from interviews and/or personal correspondence conducted by the authors, from personal peer groups, professional associations, and confidential doctor-patient communications. In some cases, the quotes are composites of multiple subjects.

We also understand that some of our observations and prescriptive ideas may not be relevant to parents of special-needs children. We also recognize that although most parents consider their children to be special, this does not necessarily qualify them for preferential treatment from the powers that beat home, in school, or through the lens of a doctor. For example, some parents want their child to be labeled as having attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) so that they can get extra time on tests. Others prefer to explain their childs shyness as a product of Aspergers syndrome to avoid having their child engage with his peers. Before designating any type of special-needs label, a child should be evaluated by an expert to determine a diagnosis and what the best course of action may be.

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Copyright 2021 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Glass, George S., author. | Tabatsky, David, author.

Title: The overparenting solution : raising resourceful children to meet todays challenges / George S. Glass, MD, PA, and David Tabatsky.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: When parents intervene inappropriately and/or excessively, their children may grow up and behave badly, plagued by anxiety, narcissism and feelings of entitlement as they struggle to cope with everyday life. The Overparenting Solution offers alternatives for parents to check their ambitions at the door and do whats best for their kids Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021006829 (print) | LCCN 2021006830 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538152096 (cloth) | ISBN 9781538152102 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Parenthood. | Parenting. | Child rearing.

Classification: LCC HQ755.8 .G55 2021 (print) | LCC HQ755.8 (ebook) | DDC 649/.1dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021006829

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021006830

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

We would like to thank Suzanne Staszak-Silva, our editor at Rowman & Littlefield, Melissa McNitt, Deni Remsburg, and her entire team for their care and attention to detail in putting this book together with us. None of this would have happened without our dedicated agent, Nancy Rosenfeld, who encouraged us to do this project.

Thanks to all of the teachers, administrative staff, and school leaders whose insights and stories played a significant role in shaping this book. We are indebted to them for dedicating their lives to educating children and sharing their knowledge with so many parents.

We would like to thank educators in the Houston, Texas, area whose contributions were invaluable: Dr. Lue Bishop, dean and head of the Upper School, and Ms. Lyn Slaughter, director of college counseling, at the Emery Weiner School; Elaine Eichelberger, dean of students, Deborah Whalen, principal, Debbie Skelly, director of guidance, and Kim Scoville, academic dean, of the St. Agnes School; and Ms. Helen Vietor, former director of the Pooh Corner Preschool.

Wed like to extend a special acknowledgment to the educational professionals, developmental specialists, and parents who shared their experiences and viewpoints with us. They include Sam, Alicia and Danny, Mo and Bette, Dan and Angel, Joan, Mimi and Cindy, Diane, Jane, Samantha, Sylvia, Chris, Ingrid, Norris, Simon and Dee, Melody and Bill, Benjy, Cynthia, Morgan, Ben, Tabitha, Ray, Brian, Claudia, Kevin, Meg, Robert, Vicky, Jessica and Crystal, Ritu, Sanji, Priti, Allison, Suzi, Karen, Molly, Mrs. Brando, Trent, Kim, Igarashi, Jamie, Larry, Luanne, Lauren and Crissy, and Paul.

And thanks to James Racheff, Maralyn Tabatsky, and Wendy Garfinkle for their diligent research and administrative help.

George Glass, MD

I am indebted to my wife, Donna Glass, who allowed me to take time and energy away from her and our family life to work on this while maintaining my day job as a psychiatrist. I also want to thank my five children and four grandchildren, who are still talking to me in spite of all the warnings they gave me while educating me about my own failings as a helicopter parent.