Compassionate Child-Rearing: An In-Depth Approach to Optimal Parenting

In this work, Dr. Firestone develops the theory and underlying dynamics involved in disturbed family relationships and the "poisonous pedagogy" that characterizes generally accepted patterns of child-rearing. The author expands on the descriptions of the traditional abuses of children previously offered by Alice Miller, R.D. Laing, James Garbarino, and others. He describes a process through which parents can uncover and work through ambivalent feelings toward their children, to gain a more compassionate view of themselves and of their children.