Duct Tape Parenting

A Less Is More Approach to Raising Respectful, Responsible, and Resilient Kids

Vicki Hoefle

bibliomotion books + media, August 2012

There’s a new set of 3Rs for our kids—respect, responsibility, and resilience—to better prepare them for life in the real world. Once developed, these skills let kids take charge, and let parents step back, to the benefit of all. Casting hover mothers and helicopter parents aside, Vicki Hoefle encourages a different, counter-intuitive—yet much more effective—approach: for parents to sit on their hands, stay on the sidelines, even if duct tape is required, so that the kids step up. Duct Tape Parenting gives parents a new perspective on what it means to be effective, engaged parents and to enable kids to develop confidence through solving their own problems. This is not a book about the parenting strategy of the day—what the author calls “Post-It Note Parenting”—but rather a relationship-based guide to span all ages and stages of development. Witty, straight-shooting Hoefle addresses frustrated parents everywhere who are ready to raise confident, capable children to go out in the world.

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About the Author

Vicki Hoefle is a professional parent educator and mother of five, living in Middlebury, Vermont.

Hoefle began teaching more than 20 years ago, while running a daycare center in Seattle, WA. Parents consistently praised her approach with their children, and wanted to bring her tools and understanding of children home. From this need, Hoefle created a six-week parenting class. Two decades and thousands of success stories later, Hoefle continues to share her parenting tips and techniques with families across the country. She combines expertise in Adlerian Psychology with a suite of actionable, time-tested tools. Her informative and highly engaging presentation style keeps her in demand as a speaker, facilitator and educator.

Raising children is perhaps the most complex, challenging task parents will ever face–and, with the right guidance, the most rewarding. While it’s true that parenting often relies on instinct, there are techniques that can help every parent, parent from their best. For the past 20 years, Hoefle has developed and promoted successful strategies and approaches that help create healthy, lasting and productive relationships with children.