In the myth of the spoiled child, Alfie Kohn systematically debunks these beliefs – not only by challenging erroneous claims, but also by exposing the disturbing ideology that underlies them. Complaints about demanding parents and spoiled children are hardly new. He shows that there is no evidence for this, let alone that it is more common than in previous generations. The main threat to a child's healthy development is parenting that is too controlling rather than too permissive.
