"Part American and part French, part memoir and part guide, this book offers a fresh, unique, and powerful perspective on the challenges of parenting and how to find a rewarding path forward for parents and children alike. How should we raise our children? It should be a simple enough question to answer but in fact it is an intimidating and complex one. We often address it by deciding to do either exactly what our parents did or just the opposite. After that we rely on a cocktail of love and instinct, hoping it will be enough to overcome the difficulties ahead. Far from having perfect free will, however, we are all under the influence. The child still within us confuses, influences, or undermines all our aspirations as parents and prevents us from sticking to the philosophy we initially hoped to follow. These unresolved emotions drive us to reproduce the upbringing we received, including the behaviors that have hurt us the most. In Parents Under the Influence, Cecile David-Weill draws on her own parenting blunders and successes as well as concrete examples, case studies, and works of fiction to guide readers, helping them heal from the past and become effective, nurturing parents"-- "Part memoir, part parenting guide, part American and part French, Parents Under the Influence offers a unique view of the challenges of parenting, and fresh perspectives on how to find a beneficial path forward for parents and children alike. How should we raise our children? It should be a simple enough question to answer but in fact it is an intimidating and complex one. We often address it either by doing exactly what our parents did, or by doing just the opposite: We rely on a cocktail of love and instinct, hoping that that will be enough to overcome the difficulties ahead. Far from having perfect free will, we are all under the influence. The child still within us confuses, influences or contradicts all the aspirations of our parents, and drives us to reproduce the upbringing we received. In Parents Under the Influence, Cele David-Weill draws on her own parenting blunders and successes to guide readers toward awareness of and mastery over their conditioned responses, to heal from the past and become effective, nurturing parents"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

Preface -- Part one: The invisible connection between parents and children. Children draw on our behavior -- We repeat our own childhood -- Part two: Ending the vicious cycle. Neutralizing our pain -- Correcting our behavior -- Part three: Setting the record straight. The perfect parents are imperfect -- More isn't better -- Part four: War and peace. Structure and discipline -- Bonding with our children -- Giving up our need for control.