Parenting & Motherhood

The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children

by Alison Gopnik

A renowned developmental psychologist dismantles modern 'parenting' culture, arguing that obsessive goal-oriented child-rearing is both recent and misguided. Gopnik draws on cutting-edge science to show that children are designed to be messy, unpredictable explorers, not products to be molded. She advocates for being a gardener who creates fertile conditions rather than a carpenter shaping a specific outcome.

More Parenting & Motherhood

• Little Women — Louisa May Alcott
• Expecting Better — Emily Oster
• Unconditional Parenting — Alfie Kohn
• No-Drama Discipline — Daniel J. Siegel, MD
• How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character — Paul Tough
• What to Expect the First Year — Heidi Murkoff
• The Three Mothers — Anna Malaika Tubbs
• Siblings Without Rivalry — Adele Faber

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