logo

50 pages 1 hour read

Abigail Shrier

Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

Abigail ShrierNonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2024

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Part 3, Chapters 11-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “Maybe There’s Nothing Wrong with Our Kids”

Part 3, Chapter 11 Summary: “This Will Be Our Final Session”

Mental health experts have insisted upon a false idea of perfectionism in the parent-child relationship, yet relationships are valuable for their own sake and not because they conform to a pattern. Spontaneous and unregulated interactions are healthy and shouldn’t be avoided. Most importantly, parents need to give their children space, allowing them independence, responsibility, and the risk of failure. Shrier recommends reducing what parents do for their children—including supplying technological equipment and arranging activities—by one-third. Children benefit from small failures and injuries. Parents should not feed worries in their children and should not praise them for mundane accomplishments. If a child has a problem, a parent should not immediately refer that child to a mental health expert.

Recounting her own experiences, Shrier notes that she stopped monitoring her children’s homework. When her nine-year-old daughter asked to walk to and from the bus stop by herself, she allowed it. Although it frightened Shrier, she knew that there is a “window of independence” when children want to take a risk on their own (218). If not granted, children stop asking for it. She had her sons do errands and noticed that they began to take note of their surroundings. Highly recommending a technology-free sleep-away camp, Shrier emphasizes the importance of parents simply getting out of their children’s way.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 50 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,500+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools