Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-311) and index.
THE ASSAULT -- Childhood crashed and burned -- The assault on innocence by media: the co-conspirators -- The assault on innocence by schools -- The assault on innocence by peers -- The assault on innocence by parents -- THE DEFENSE -- The first component of innocence: security ---- The second component of innocence: a sense of wonder -- The third component of innocence: optimism -- Notes -- Index.
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Saving Childhood offers parents and grandparents practical strategies to cope with a society that seems perversely determined to frighten and corrupt its young. Cultural critic and popular radio host Michael Medved and his wife, psychologist Diane Medved, argue that in a mistaken effort to curb problems plaguing its youth, our culture has changed from protecting childhood as a precious time of growth to hammering even the smallest youngsters with a grim, harsh, and menacing view of the world. The Medveds systematically present unassailable scientific evidence, moving anecdotes, and personal experiences of raising their three young children to explain the attack from four primary directions - media, schools, peers, and even well-intentioned parents themselves. In a unique analysis the Medveds define innocence but as the result of three components - security, a sense of wonder, and optimism. They empower parents and all who care about childhood with concrete, easily accomplished means to fend off the assault, as well as advice for handling hurdles such as the Internet, television, peer pressure, and the plague of pessimism. -- Book Cover.