Harvard psychologist RichardWeissbourd argues incisively that parents�not peers, not television�are the primary shapers of their children�s moral lives. And yet, it is parents� lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children�s development.Through the author�s own original field research, including hundreds of rich, revealing conversations with children, parents, teachers, and coaches, a surprising picture emerges.Parents� intense focus on their children�s happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists.The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children�a heartening trend in many ways�often undercuts kids�morality.Our fixation with being great parents�and our need for our children to reflect that greatness�can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents� interactions with coaches and teachers�and coaches� and teachers� interactions with children�are critical arenas for nurturing, or eroding, children�s moral lives.Weissbourd�s ultimately compassionate message�based on compelling new research�is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development.