Two questions for John Rosemond

Q: New parents are always looking for answers. Where do they find them? Talking to others? Reading books? A: Today’s parents, moms especially, have become thoroughly confused by all the reading they do. Most of the mainstream parenting advice is contradictory, confusing and in many if not most cases, just downright bad. I think the best sources of advice are other parents who seem to be getting good results and older folks who possess the wisdom of experience. Q: Are there one or two books you’d recommend for parents? A: The only other author I recommend is Kevin Leman. Although he’s a psychologist, he’s a very practical guy with both feet on the ground. continuously raise the bar for parents.”

He said that tried-andtrue parenting methods are the answer. Society’s willingness to try something new and unproven has failed, as evidenced in what he said is the unraveling of longtime values.

“Times always change with every generation,” Rosemond said. “Every generation has brought innovation into civilization. The argument that we have to change is specious. ... when we became a fully fledged postmodern progressive culture, all that changed, in the 1960s.”

What went wrong? And can 21st century society turn back the clock to 1955?

“You have to separate wheat from the chaff, which we didn’t do,” Rosemond said. “We embraced everything. We bought into the notion that we had to completely change the way to raise our children. No culture had ever done that before. People need to hold onto proven child-rearing principles in changing times.

“What I say in the book is we are not better off. These fundamental principles work — it doesn’t matter if you use a cellphone or a landline, or if you drive the latest hightech car or a 1960 Volkswagen. These principles work.”