In this episode we speak with author and parenting expert Alfie Kohn. It will make you think!

When you tell your child, “Don’t let me catch you doing that again!”, will they stop? Or will they just try harder the next time to make sure they don’t get caught! That’s one of the issues our parenting expert Alfie Kohn uncovers as problematic in the conditional parenting approach. He advocates for an approach to parenting that values children for who they are and not simply how they behave. Kohn argues that the conditional approach sends a message to the child that they are loveable when they do the right things and not loveable when they don’t. Although conditional parenting is quite ingrained in our culture, the research shows it has a less than ideal impact on forming moral character. It raises the question: what do you really want for your child’s future?

You can find out more on this at Alfie Kohn’s website: www.alfiekohn.org The website is full of interesting articles and blog posts and tonnes of resources on this topic. Definitely check it out. Alfie Kohn also writes a lot about schools, teaching and our educational system.

Among his best known books are Unconditional Parenting and Punished By Rewards. A list of all of his books is found here.