As we wrote this book we always remained mindful that the parent-child relationship is sacred. We have great respect for this sanctity, and we will not desecrate your parent-child relationship by being self-serving “experts” who “tell you” how to parent. You can easily find a plethora of those kinds of condescending parent-advice books elsewhere, because, without a doubt, those are the books that become “best-sellers.”
The fears of nervous and obsessive parents are “preyed upon” as those “expert” authors boost their book sales by firmly asserting that they possess “the answer” about “the best” way to parent, which is, of course, better than the other “expert’s” opinion. Interestingly, the arguments of both “experts” may have some merit. Of course, there are also the occasional “experts” whose advice can be “harmful if swallowed”.
Instead, in Maximum Strength Parenting we express our “Freedom of Speech” and our “Freedom to Teach,” but we stop well short of the “Freedom to Preach” that is evident in so many parent-advice books of the day. Throughout Maximum Strength Parenting, you will find rich information, balanced commentary, and consideration of nuanced points that will cause you to think about your positions (or perhaps re-think your positions) on countless topics of philosophical and practical importance in parenting.
We also provide broad ranges of effective parenting strategies for you to choose from. There are many different types of strategies for specific behaviors and developmental problems (e.g., we offer four different “Sleep Solutions”), but when properly used they all have a strong likelihood of being effective. If you prefer to be “given the answer” on behavioral or developmental problems, you may find this book frustrating, but if you prefer to be well-informed and “allowed” to make your own choices, then Maximum Strength Parenting is the book for you. That is our ultimate expression of how truly sacred we know the parent-child relationship to be.
