John Rosemond

John Rosemond (born November 25, 1947) has authored 14 parenting books, pamphlets and writes a nationally syndicated column on parenting. He has two children, Eric and Amy.

Rosemond grew up in Charleston, SC, and the suburbs of Chicago. He attended Western Illinois University, graduating in 1971 with a Masters Degree in Community Psychology. At Western Illinois University, Rosemond sang lead in a popular campus band, Herkemer Bog, where he met his wife at a concert. From 1971 to 1980, Rosemond worked as a psychologist and program director at various mental health centers in Illinois, Iowa, and North Carolina. He began writing his newspaper column in 1976, while Director of the Early Intervention Program at the Gaston-Lincoln Mental Health Center in Gastonia, NC, where he and his wife had moved that same year with their two children, Eric and Amy. In 1978, the Charlotte Observer purchased the column and put it into syndication a year later. It now appears weekly in over 200 newspapers in the USA. From 1980 to 1990, John was in private practice as a family psychologist.

John's first book, John Rosemond's Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children, was published by Andrews McMeel in 1989. It received a lot of attention, both positive and negative, because of his advocacy of a non-psychological philosophy and traditional parenting methods. That book is now available in a greatly expanded edition titled John Rosemond's NEW Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children. Rosemond has since authored fourteen books on parenting and family issues, including A Family of Value, Making the Terrible Twos Terrific!, and Teen-Proofing.

In August 1995, Rosemond started a radio show from a studio in his home town of Gastonia, North Carolina. WSIC in Statesville aired it live, and WCGC in Belmont, near Gastonia, tape-delayed the show. Other markets for the show were Durham, North Carolina; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Tallahassee, Florida; Rome, Georgia; Reading, Pennsylvania; Ames, Iowa; and Chicago.[1]

In 2007, Rosemond published (through Howard Books) his first book with an explicitly Christian theme, Parenting by The Book. He has since written two books, the latest (as of Sept. 2009) being The Well-Behaved Child: Discipline that REALLY Works! (Thomas Nelson Publishers), and is currently working on three other books.

Jane L. Rankin, author of Parenting Experts, describes and evaluates the recommendations of five parenting experts. After reviewing the experts' recommendations and comparing them with recommendations of research, she made this observation: "What is unusual about Rosemond as a parenting expert is that he gives specific advice that so often turns out to be wrong. His Better Homes columns were studies in moderation, but over time and across outlets, he has begun increasingly to define himself against other professionals and against societal trends of which he disapproves. On key issues he has changed positions radically in directions away from research findings and toward the sensibilities of a narrower, more conservative audience" (p. 242). Rankin also notes Rosemond's lack of credentials and "his inaccurate advice and position changes" (p. 242, [2])

In addition to speaking and writing, Rosemond serves on the board of directors for ParentalRights.org, a grassroots organization dedicated to adding a Parental Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Rosemond is known for his old-fashioned parenting philosophy and approach. That, in combination with his outspoken political conservatism, has earned him a number of critics, especially within the mental health professions. Rosemond, a psychologist, generally begins his presentations by telling his audiences that "psychology is a secular religion that one believes in by faith" and that psychology has done more harm than good to the American family.

Rosemond advocates what he calls a traditional disciplinary approach to parenting, a view that makes him controversial. Some don't like his views on toilet training[3] and spanking [4] as they run counter to other parenting experts' recommendations.

John Rosemond has a masters degree (MS), and is licensed as a "psychological associate" in the State of North Carolina. Over the years, Rosemond has received disciplinary sanctions from the North Carolina Licensing Board for misrepresenting his professional credentials and assuming provider-client relationship in inappropriate circumstances.

References

  1. ↑ Tim Funk, "John Rosemond Starts Radio Show Monday," The Charlotte Observer, August 19, 1995.
  2. ↑ Rankin, J. L. (2005). Parenting experts: Their advice, the research, and getting it right. Westport, CN: Praeger.
  3. ↑ War of the Diapers
  4. ↑ Is Spanking OK?

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