Old-fashioned advice right on

Three cheers for the “outdated and inappropriate advice” (as one letter writer stated) offered by John Rosemond on child rearing!

Let’s have some more of that old-fashioned counseling, directing that there be meaningful, and sometimes unpleasant, consequences for children who go outside the boundaries (assuming the parents have established boundaries). Bring back the days where it didn’t matter what you were labeled (ADHD, ADD, etc.); parents still held themselves and their children accountable for their children’s behavior.

Hey, let’s retry growing child/parent “friendships” by re-establishing a clear sense of who is in charge (for the good of the child and order within the household and the greater community), as opposed to pandering to the child’s desires. Let’s “go back” to when parents owned responsibility for raising the child and holding them accountable, as opposed to relying on the public sector (doctor’s, teachers, school administrators) to do this.

Just as there are many great kids and parents out there that may not need this advice, there are plenty who can use the help that Rosemond offers. As all children (and we parents) are all individuals, certainly everything that Rosemond recommends is not for everyone. But let’s not throw out some “good old-fashioned techniques” just because a few people don’t agree with them. They might actually work.

Doug Sahlberg

Snohomish