The Epidemic

Full Title: The Epidemic: The Rot of American Culture, Absentee and Permissive Parenting, and the Resultant Plague of Joyless, Selfish Children
Author / Editor: Robert Shaw
Publisher: Regan Books, 2003

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Review © Metapsychology Vol. 8, No. 48
Reviewer: Sundeep Nayak, M.D.

(The) trainer
would throw the dolphin a fish whenever she did something the trainer wanted
her to. But every once in a while €¦ the trainer would throw a fish into the
water for no apparent reason€¦ because dolphins need a free fish once in a
while.

The Epidemic
is not the morose fatalistic book the title belied. It is charming, sensible
and a rather lovely read. It is more anecdotal than scientific. There is
nothing statistical, evidence-based or conclusive in what could pass for a
memoir of an avuncular soul who is perhaps just a little wiser than most of us.
Though written by a child psychiatrist practicing in Berkeley (perhaps an
oxymoron), it compiles more of Robert Shaw’s observations €“ they are not case
studies – in strip mall restaurants and the beachside than large datasets with
worthy conclusions. Throughout the book, Shaw steers clear of coming across as
a holier-than-thou televangelist, purveyor of the singular way of child craft,
an admirable feat given the mushrooming of this ilk of late. As most of the
material is in the first person singular, Wood’s contribution is presumed
editorial.

A fairly broad
spectrum of issues is handled, from nipple confusion and revolving group child
care to television addiction and the valueless society we inhabit. This is not
a How-To book; it is a DIY book that tells you to intuit what you think is best
for your child and run with it, because that nearly always works. This is a
reassuring book for first parents who are nearly annihilated by the sheer
volume of unsolicited advice hemorrhaging from well meaning friends and, worse,
other family.

The tasting menu
features early childhood development, bonding and childcare, training and
teaching small children, handling upsetting behavior, childhood education and
the dangers of the media upon children. Everyone, as I did, will probably
disagree with at least a couple of the polemic (non-parental home care,
recurrent reference to Columbine which goes nowhere) but we still love the
common sense fountainhead Shaw appears to possess, not as common as we should
like to think. Permissive parenting is rearing its ugly head all over the
landscape and we are actively witnessing the fallout. This is one of those rare
books about parenting that is reassuring, calming and hopeful. I felt the need
to point-click and post copies to new parents I really care about, just in time
for the Holidays.