How to Raise an Adult

Lighten up and back off. That is the message educator Julie Lythcott-Haims gives to parents in her book How to Raise an Adult. The author is a parent herself and empathizes with the concerns parents have about the future welfare of their children. However, the former Stanford University dean of freshmen cites evidence that parents’ attempts to protect their children are actually inflicting harm. Overprotective and over-controlling parents are depriving their children from the experiences necessary for the development of independent adults. Lythcott-Haims does more than point out the shortcomings of current parenting. She also provides specific actions parents can take to raise their children to become competent and confident adults.

Anyone involved in raising, teaching, mentoring, or coaching young people will benefit from reading the book. In fact, Lythcott-Haims makes it clear that society as a whole has a stake in how children are prepared for adulthood. The present trends in American parenting do not bode well for the future of our country.