Parents often feel overwhelmed by their children's omnipotence. It is easy enough to say that parents must recover their authority and lay down rules, but what are the practical ways of going about this in everyday life?

The aim of this book is to answer that question, by providing clear and simple instructions to help parents educate their children in an atmosphere of personal fulfilment and respect for others. The author divides the child's development into three educational phases:

- The early years: What should you say to a child during the first “conflicts”, which usually concern meals, bedtime and cleanliness?

- The primary school years: How to handle the constraints of school? How to handle the child's leisure time? How to make a child respect family life and its rules?

- Over 12 years of age: Increased sources of conflict (going out, clothes, alcohol). What should parents do? What shouldn't they do?

The author's goal is to help parents develop their common sense in educational matters, so that they will not feel the need to consult a professional for minor problems. He tries to help them understand the sort of parents they are and suggests ways of handling specific situations (television, video games, car trips, birthdays, etc.).

Didier Pleux is a clinical psychologist, a psychotherapist and the founder of the French Institute of Cognitive Therapy. He holds a doctorate in development psychology and is the author of Peut mieux faire: remotiver votre enfant à l'école and of the highly successful De l'Enfant roi à l'enfant tyran, both published by Editions Odile Jacob.