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Frank Furedi
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Frank Füredi
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Paranoid Parenting: Why Ignoring the Experts May Be Best for Your Child Paperback – 26 Sept. 2010

by Frank Furedi (Author)
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Paranoid Parenting is an important book that shows how parental fears have been stoked and families harmed as a consequence. It ought to be read by every sensible individual interested in regaining a sane viewpoint that advances children's well-being. It seems that every day there is a warning about your children: everything from cots, babysitters, schools, supermarkets and public parks pose a danger. We are told that children's health, safety and welfare and constantly at risk. Based on sociological research as well as dozens of interviews, this book will bolster your confidence in your own judgements and enable you to bring up self-assured, imaginative, capable children. If you want to understand why adults act like children and children act like adults -- in short, if you want to understand why raising children today is harder than ever before -- read this book.
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  1. ISBN-10
    184706521X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1847065216
  3. Publisher
    Continuum
  4. Publication date
    26 Sept. 2010
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    13.97 x 1.37 x 21.59 cm
  7. Print length
    240 pages
  8. See all details
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4.9 out of 5 stars
16 global ratings

Top reviews from United Kingdom

calamitybob
5.0 out of 5 stars Great thesis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2014
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A superb piece of analysis and insight that underlines the now dangerous interventions regularly offered by welfare professionals and other 'experts' with regard child rearing. Furedi is able to apply critical sociology to the events and experiences of everyday life without drowning what he presents in deep or superlative theory. He bombards the reader with evidence from a myriad of sources including television, radio and academic studies whilst using irony and humour to stress the ridiculousness of many modern assumptions and practices. That children are now seemingly offered mind altering pills for being shy remains one of many examples offered by the author to make his case. Crucially he also underlines that parents are more often the true experts when it comes to child care amid relentless scare mongering and risk aversion policing by the State and other agencies with ulterior motives.

A brilliant thesis that is thought provoking and refreshing in its originality, as good as his book on Therapy Culture. This book should be required reading on social work and other care and health professional courses
One person found this helpful
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Sophie Liddiard
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2013
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Very helpful for my assignment. Very clear to understand. Presents some really strong arguments. Very interesting. Recommended for parents and students :)
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A. Waker
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all new parents
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2003
When my husband and I had our first child 7 months ago, we found ourselves under a barrage of advice from friends, family and "experts". Many well meaning friends constantly told us the latest "expert" study and why we should know about it. There is always the underlying idea behind all this advice that if you don't do what the "experts" say your child will be damaged for life.
I found this book so refreshing! In a rare exception to most parenting books, Furedi actually elevates the role of parents over professionals in shaping children! Other books may claim that parents know best, but they then follow it up with endless advice on how parents need to change. Other advice books always point back to the experts as really knowing what is best for a child, and that parents should defer to the latest research and expert advice. Furedi turns this around and shows why the best people to deal with children are parents. Parents are the ones who know children best, and can best meet their needs.
10 people found this helpful
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K. Jenkins
3.0 out of 5 stars Good in places, comes across as a bit clueless in others
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 January 2011
Furedi is good when he is pulling apart some of the bad science that surrounds parenting and worryingly makes its way into government policy, particularly when he is looking at sociological trends.

However, in some chapters he seems to wander out of his depth. He is interesting when he talks about hysteria about spanking, but looses the argument when he talks about spanking in the context of a 'warm and responsive' relationship, as though this is honestly when most parents hit their children, rather than when they are at their wit's end. I would agree that there is a tendency to pathologize normal but inconvenient behaviour, however when Furedi starts to suggest that ADHD is the result of parents being reluctant to punish their children he starts to sound like an old lady in a supermarket.

"To a surprising degree, parents have also internalized the stricture to negotiate and to use reason instead of punishment". Really? When Furedi crosses the line into psychological advice, he appears to start making up his own bad science.
17 people found this helpful
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Rixs
3.0 out of 5 stars Good parents should follow their instincts. But can everyone?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2010
The author makes a valuable point, but takes quite a long time to do it. There is an industry of professionals and politicians who over-complicate and interfere in the parenting of children. They create stories of risk and hazard out of unsupported claims, and instruct parents on how to live their lives.

But I'm not sure that all parents already know how to take care of their children optimally, and the impact of a bad upbringing on a person's life can be significant.

This book is aimed at those interested in the profession and philosophy of advice-giving, rather than at parents themselves. I found "Under Pressure" by Carl Honoré to hold better advice about childcare, and "No Fear" by Tim Gill to analyse the risk aversion culture more comprehensively.
6 people found this helpful
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Saracen
3.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas, shame about the details
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2002
Furedi makes some great points about the consequences of parental overprotectiveness to children's development. He has some interesting speculations about the reasons that parents have become so cautious in recent decades.
Unfortunately, the specific statistics and arguments cited by Furedi to support his claims are riddled with sloppy logic. For instance, he observes that there are fewer fatalities to child cyclists in the UK now than several decades ago, and concludes that cycling on the road has become less dangerous. However, as Furedi himself observes, far fewer children are allowed out on bicycles these days. If there are fewer kids on the road, doesn't it follow that fewer kids will die on the road?
A good editor or co-author could have helped the author produce an outstanding book. However, even as it stands, this book is thought-provoking and worth a quick read.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

DR GEORGE MALVEIRA
5.0 out of 5 stars Awful truth.
Reviewed in Brazil on 13 June 2024
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A thorough description of the current circumstances o the 2000’s. How fear, overprotection and the non-stop availability of internet were about - as we learned a few years later
- change childhood and youth.
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Michael S Sillers
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting alternative to the fear of allowing your child to live.
Reviewed in Canada on 4 March 2013
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Furedi tells us why the current practice of over protective parenting and parenting through fear may be damaging to our future generations.
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