Parenting Without Fear

The Foundation for Raising Balanced Children in a Healing World

Non-Fiction - Parenting
322 Pages
Reviewed on 01/25/2014
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite

In Parenting Without Fear, author William Levin has put forth a program he names the Genius of Life (GoL) program. His premise is that all of us have had guilt and fear embedded in us from birth because of our inability to communicate our emotional needs. As parents, we naturally pass on these burdens to our children. The repetition is endless and the negative parenting cycle continues. Dr. Levin claims that even though we are respectful and motivated to be good parents, we inadvertently strip our children of their birthright, which is an experience of "their own innate and inalienable worthiness and innocence." We do this by allowing infants to cry and by attempting to control children during potty training, and by countless other means in which the child's ability to grow through a sense of positive relationships is stripped and then, becomes apparent in adult parenting or adult relationships.

Dr. Levin believes that, apart from abusive and neglectful parenting, most parents are highly motivated to do their best. This is a most positive facet of the book. He believes most parents have the ability to step aside momentarily and consider that their children are actually conveying messages at stressful times. If we listen to the message and act accordingly, we are promoting understanding of the child's emotional code. The actual plan developed by Levin in Parenting Without Fear is somewhat complicated and may be put aside by some readers. When Levin uses actual examples and gives alternative responses to difficult situations, the plan will make more sense to the lay-parent. For me, the formula did not appear to be anything particularly new. Rather, the GoL plan was one in which the parents remain in control as parents while not assuming a controlling role.