Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in America's Homes and Schools

The moral development of children presented in Damon's The Moral Child is further examined in this insightful study of misconceptions about children and the damaging child-rearing practices that result. Characterizing the crisis of today's youth as a ``failure of spirit,'' Damon attacks many of the theories of a child-centered culture that disregards the value of classical curricula and provides easy rewards that delay the maturing process. Instead, he says, research shows that children are eager to be of service to others, crave intellectual challenge and respond to the discipline of religious and moral principles. Countering much of the contemporary conventional wisdom, the author shows how ``age-old'' standards meld with present-day knowledge in this constructive approach to child-rearing. Damon directs the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University. (Jan.)