Dr. Cohen's Seven Rules for Parenting Dr. David Cohen argues that a child's personality, talents, successes and failures are much more influenced by who the child was born to be than anything a parent can do while the child is growing up. In Cohen's view, parents need to provide nurture, discipline, protection, educational opportunities and encouragement of a child's natural abilities. Then they need to step back and let go of the results. Love and respect for the child's own personality, talents and achievements are critical. Parents should celebrate a child's success, refrain from living vicariously through the child and back off when a cherished parental talent fails to show in the second generation.
Good parents help a child become civilized and self-actualized.
Parent should provide an environment that encourages good behavior, academic achievement, personal responsibility and the opportunity to fulfill inborn potential. Good parents recognize that each child is unique psychologically. Children must, and will, follow their own, sometimes surprisingly different, paths. Parents have limited ability to predict their child's development. Good parents can provide opportunities for growth but there is no way a parent can predict the outcome.