If you have never heard of John Rosemond, something is wrong. Known as one of America’s most popular speakers on parenting issues and the author of a nationally-syndicated parenting column appearing weekly in more than 200 newspapers, he is hard to miss. He is the author of twelve best-selling books on parenting and family issues, gives talks that are informative and entertaining, and best yet. . . . . .he is coming to Roanoke.
My first exposure to John Rosemond was about 15 years ago. I was working with a family that had a door slammer for a 13 year old daughter. After hearing all of their woes and unsuccessful attempts at dealing with this, I recommended sending the door on vacation. Clearly the door was having a tough time and needed a break. A door gone for a few days usually clears the issue up for a 13 year old girl.
In response to this the mother said, “That is what John Rosemond says.” At that point my thought was who is this John Rosemond guy? It did not take long for me to figure out not only who he was but that he was on to something. So many in the field of psychology and counseling have missed the mark and even done harm in the name of helping others. John, on the other hand, has been a consistent voice of wisdom and direction while at the same time making a clear departure from current psychological trends in many areas. The more I became familiar with John and his work, the more I appreciated his basic, applicable approach that was grounded in scripture, not psychology.
Recently I had the opportunity to talk with John regarding his upcoming trip to Roanoke. I asked him what he wanted others to know about him. He was very clear that what he is doing is a ministry, a mission, and that he feels a responsibility in his position to point out what is wrong in psychology today and to point individuals and families towards what is true and right about raising healthy kids.
A couple key points that we discussed is how high self-esteem is not a healthy goal for our children and is more consistent with many types of pathology. He added that strict behavior modification may work well on dogs and rats but that it does not have much to offer us with our parenting woes because our children have “free will.”
These and similar ideas paired with the notion that the marriage is the center of the family, not the children, is what John has been sharing and teaching for many years. When asked what his theoretical foundation was, John shared that it was simple, the Bible and his upbringing. He comments that his best evidence, even though he has much research backing his work, is that he has been married to the same woman for 42 years, has two pretty healthy kids and a bunch of well-behaved grandkids.
I also learned that it all started with a simple column on parenting and family in 1976 that led to invites to speak. Needless to say this grew and in 1990 John began speaking full-time. In ending our conversation I asked him why someone would want to come see him speak. “You’ll learn a lot and you’ll laugh,” was his comment.
If you are thinking that it is a little odd that another counselor who writes a column on parenting and family issues would be so clearly encouraging everyone to come hear John Rosemond, remember that we are all in this together. The more individuals, professionals and parents that are pursuing how to raise our families in a balanced and healthy way, the better off the families and children of this country will be.
I fully encourage anyone who has kids to come see John Rosemond. He will be speaking two times on Thursday April 29th. The morning session, “Bringing Out the Best in Your Child,” will be at 10 a.m. at the Green Ridge Recreation Center and the evening session, “Parenting the Strong-willed Child,” will be at 6:30 p.m. at William Fleming High School Auditorium. Tickets are only $10 ($12 at the door).
For more information contact Paul Henny DDS, PC at (540) 774-1577. Come, learn a lot – a whole lot – and laugh.
By Keith McCurdy [email protected]
