Editorial July 26, 1993 ISSUE

Help for parents

Richard C. Bergenheim

Is there anything quite as wonderful as watching a child grow up? There is the excitement of a baby's first step, of a child's delightful gurgles of happiness, and of his or her repose in sleep after a nonstop day. And possibly, as quiet descends on the house, we are aware once again that this child came without a set of directions, with no instruction manual, no "how to" guide. Yet a parent has the greatest obligation of all, which is to raise a child effectively.

I visited a local bookstore the other day and found about eighteen feet of shelf space allotted for books on raising children. So there was no lack of advice available. But as I looked through several books dealing with preschoolers, I also saw that you had to take your pick among a wide variety of approaches; there was no consensus. How does one choose? How does one know what to do?

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