Trustworthy advice for parents who want to rear bright, polite children-and a contrarian look at hot-button parenting issues, from quality time to good manners. With myriad parenting books available today, it's no wonder parents are confused by the range of opinions and quick fixes these books offer. I'll Be the Parent, You Be the Child leaves theories behind and gives parents of school-age children practical approaches for handling fundamental child-rearing issues. Out of a welter of parenting fads and on-going cultural upheavals, Paul Kropp answers parents' number-one question, "What is the right way to rear our children to become responsible, well-adjusted adults?" Kropp responds with irrefutable evidence that favors time-honored essentials for parenting success, from providing unconditional love to setting consistent rules-qualities we know are easily overlooked in favor of feel-good fads. Next he tackles specific, topical problems that concern parents most, offering advice that often runs counter to fashion but that parents will cheer. Topics include praise and its dangers; quality time, and why it never works; privacy, and why too much of it is a bad thing; allowance, and the true purpose of giving a child his own money; and much more. This is a bracing, often humorous, book that debunks easy, TV-style parenting and provides down-to-earth problem-solving that parents can really use, with lots of real-life examples.