I’d be more inclined to agree with Mohler if he, or the writer of the column he quotes, actually gave some examples of picture books that support his theory. I haven’t noticed this trend in the books I read to my (now) three year old, and they’re mostly secular.

In fact, one of the books we read (which won a Caldecott award in 1999) is called “No David!” by David Shannon. In it the child (David) misbehaves and is continually told “No David!”. He is eventually punished with a time out, after which his parents reiterate their love for him.

I completely agree with Dr. Mohler’s assertion regarding children’s picture books. Going to the library has become an exercise in previewing all books before they go into the tote bag for checkout (we have 5 and 3 year olds). Some sneak through…right now we are dealing with a little girl who won’t listen to her parents’ (or her doctor’s) too-soft advice to stop eating pink treats, so she turns pink. This book is a huge “hit” in kid-lit world spawning pajamas, toys, etc. There’s the old standby “Eloise” whose apparently single-Mom is a jet-setting socialite who leaves Eloise with Nanny at The Plaza hotel - written waaaay back in the ’50s no-less. Don’t even want to go Where the Wild Things Are, the so-called “classic” children’s book… these are just three examples. We’re sticking with McClosky’s “One Morning in Maine” and “Time of Wonder,” thank you.

Stephanie:

What’s wrong with the pink thing? Seems like it’s an example of a character who disobeys and suffers the consequences thereof.

Eloise- these were written in the 60s from what I can tell. If anything they undermine Mohler and Zalewski’s argument, since Zalewski suggests this is a recent phenomenon. It also doesn’t deal with lack of discipline/authority or the child being “in control”. It does provide an example of an absentee parent.

Where the wild things are- What’s wrong with this one? In the story, Max is sent to his room as punishment. While there he imagines the whole “Wild Things” fantasy. So the book contains an example of a parent disciplining his child. And the discipline is not portrayed unfavorably.

Hey JPH — I don’t want to get into a huge discussion about parenting and discipline philosophies on Challies! :) But I will say that the reason that the little girl turns pink is because she continually disregards her parents (non-disciplinary) correction — that’s the point. She never should have been allowed to disobey her parents, climb to the top of the fridge and steal the pink cupcakes. She finally turns red…and realizes *on her own* in the middle of the night she needs to do something about it, so she eats everything green in the fridge (which had been the “prescription” from the doctor) and turns back to a normal skin tone. There is never an “I told you so, dear” or a consequence from the parents, just a “So, what happened to the rest of the cupcakes, dear?” from Daddy with sweet hugs all around (no discipline). And then, on the last page of the book little brother shows up pink, and announces, “Pink-a-boo!”

Now, I may be making an mountain out of a molehill…there’s no grave disrespect in this book (which my girls adore for obvious reasons — it’s filled with darling pink pictures of pink cupcakes and other treats, there’s the humorous eating of green food, pink fairy costumes etc., but it’s just indicative of much of the children’s fiction that is available. Subtle, yes. Explainable to children, yes.

Regarding “Where the Wild Things Are” — you are right: this book IS about a boy who is sent to his room as a punishment (as opposed to discipline)…where he sits sulking about how the world “should” be — if HE were the king. I think that says it all. We ALL want to be kings of our own destiny, but I think many readers of Mr. Challies’ blog will agree that we aren’t.

Err, that should read “discipline” not “disciple”.

Re: Parents Obey Your Children

In the animal kingdom, the lioness teaches her young grooming and hunting skills and enforces weaning; In the professional world, the skilled employee mentors the new hire until the necessary training is in place for their professional success; but where humans are concerned, we are constantly being told that the offspring already has the emotional and social templates for a life of success.

As the mother who said to the doting and non-disciplinary father, “You want your child to love you - I want my child to be loved.” Discipline is an act of love and it’s a fact of life. If children are not lovingly disciplined now, they can look forward to a future of cold hard rules in an unsympathetic world.