The book is coming along very well - page and word count is below.
We have assembled and organized all the sections - I am starting a readthrough this weekend to blunt some of the sharper edges, and to make sure it flows well.
Please have a look at the Table of Contents below (there are a few sections at the bottom that still need a home) and let me know what you think! (The numbers to the right are page numbers of course.)
If you would like to help support the book, please visit https://www.freedomain.com/donate - thank you so much!
Contents
Prologue 6
Introduction 16
PART 1: THEORY
Peaceful Parenting: What Is It? 32
What The World Should Be 35
The Evolution of Abuse 59
Entitlement 66
But My Childhood… 78
Humanity Versus Power 81
The Rules of Peaceful Parenting 90
The Ethics of Peaceful Parenting 97
What If My Children Lie to Me? 100
Credibility Is the Opposite of Vanity 106
PART 2: PRACTICE
Parenting and General Integrity 108
Parenting and Moral Instruction 113
Peaceful Parenting and Ego 115
Peaceful Parenting and the Voluntary Family 121
Preferences and Identity 127
Benefits of Having Children 133
Discipline without Violence 135
Imposing Standards 143
Peaceful Parenting and Sleep 146
Start Early 146
Self Soothing 146
Simple Sleep Steps 147
Does sleep training require ‘cry it out’? 147
Peaceful Parenting and Timeouts 148
What is a timeout? 149
Sibling Aggression 153
Compliance and the Teenage Years 159
Peaceful Parenting: Clean Your Room! 163
Why Is It Important? 164
Have I Modelled the Behaviour I Want in My Children? 169
Peaceful Parenting and Peer Pressure 171
Family and Bullying 175
Siblings 179
Brothers 180
Sisters 180
Sibling Potential 183
Extended Family and Peaceful Parenting 186
Extended Family 189
Dealing with Family Bullies 190
Family Loyalties 192
Blowback from Boundaries 195
How to Apologize 196
Apologizing to Children 204
Restitution 213
Child Abuse and Power 217
Peaceful Parenting and Reconciliation 224
Defining the Cycle of Abuse 234
Breaking the Cycle of Abuse 246
The Effects of Child Abuse over the Lifespan 248
Neglect 250
The Effects of Neglect 251
Sadism and Neglect 257
Empathy 260
Strength 268
Moral Clarity 270
PART 3: EFFECTS
Does Society Love its Children? 271
Empirical Priorities 271
The Dangers of Smoking vs the Dangers of Child Abuse 273
Spending on Child Abuse Awareness 274
National Debts, Unfunded Liabilities and Children 278
Spanking versus Covid 281
Government Schools and Child Abuse 281
Adverse Childhood Experiences 315
Prevalence of ACEs 315
ACEs and Health 317
Global Prevalence of Child Abuse 317
How often are children under the age of 2 hit? 318
Root Causes of Adult Dysfunction 318
The Detrimental Effects of Physical Abuse 318
Physical Punishment as a Predictor of Early Cognitive Development 319
Physical Abuse and Stress Responses 322
Spanking and IQ 323
School Corporal Punishment and Its Associations with Achievement and Adjustment 323
Physical Punishment as a Predictor of Early Cognitive Development 324
Spanking: Conclusions [add more] 324
Mother's Weight and its Link to Diabetes 324
Early Parent Child Bond and Stress: (Return to Chapter) 325
We Cannot Survive Without Touch: (The Effects of Neglect) 327
The Experiment on Language Isolation 327
Parts of the Brain Associated with Empathy (Return to chapter) 328
The Environmental Impact of Divorce: 329
Overall Carbon Footprint of Divorce 331
The Financial Impact of Divorce 331
The Bomb in the Brain 333
Adverse Childhood Experiences 334
The Silent Scars: Verbal Abuse and Its Consequences 335
The Soul Denied and Rejected: The Insidious Trauma of Neglect 338
The Gravest Evil: Confronting Child Sexual Abuse and Its Impact 342
The Unspoken Truth 342
Understanding the Prevalence 342
The Grave Ramifications 346
Longer-Term Impacts of Childhood Sexual Abuse 347
Child Abuse and Early Onset Menstruation 347
Brain Alterations: How Child Abuse Reshapes Neural Pathways 348
The Effects of Child Abuse on One's Genes 354
Obesity and Health: The Physical Consequences of Emotional Wounds 357
Childhood Trauma and Biological Disruption 363
Key Components and Processes: 365
The LHPA Axis and Childhood Trauma: Key Points 366
Meta-analyses indicate: 366
Childhood Trauma and Biological Stress Systems 367
Influence of Trauma Timing and Duration 368
Childhood trauma responses link to diverse biological stress regulation 368
Biological stress system responses to childhood trauma are impacted by genetic components 369
Epigenetic elements influence the biological stress system reactions to childhood trauma 370
Gender differences impact how childhood trauma affects biological stress systems 371
Heart Disease and Cancer 373
Sleep Disruptions: The Overlooked Consequence of Child Abuse 375
Risky Business: Promiscuity and Drug Abuse 377
Promiscuity 377
Drug Abuse (Including Alcohol) 379
The Incline towards Risky Behaviors and Criminality 382
ACEs and Suicide: 382
ACEs and Criminality 383
Beneath the Surface: Children Navigating the Waters of Parental Divorce 385
The Disruption of Stability 386
Loss of Trust 386
Divorce: Educational and Social Impacts 387
The Psychological Toll 387
Overall Negative Outcomes: The Life Cut Short 387
Bomb in the Brain: Conclusion 389
From Shadows to Sunlight: Dialogues that Mend the Soul 389
The Ghosts of Childhood 389
Talk Therapy: A Beacon in the Dark 390
How Peaceful Parenting Protects Children 393
Predators: How They Operate 394
Basic Information on Offenders 394
Selection of Victims 394
Recruitment of Victims (Outside of Immediate Families) 395
Location of Abuse 396
Strategies Used 396
First Move Made 397
During First Sexual Contact 397
Maintenance of Victims 397
Offenders Preparation for The Abuse Immediately Prior to Offending 397
Offenders Feelings and Concerns About the Abuse From The Offender's POV 398
Offender's Own History 398
Reliability Assessment 398
11 Major Grooming Categories (from MOQ) 399
The Importance of Sleep 402
Parental Excuses 408
General Principles for Excuses 408
“It Wasn’t That Bad” 410
“If I could go back, I would do it better, but I can't, so let's just move forward.” 411
“I brought you into this world and I can take you out!” 412
“How was I supposed to know…” 412
“Wait till college to date?……You knew I was joking.” 413
“You don’t listen anyway….” 413
“As long as you live under my roof, I make the rules!” 414
“Do as I Say, Not as I Do!” 415
“You had a better childhood than I did.” 415
“It hurts me more than it hurts you!” 416
Christians and Proverbs 13:24 417
“Other kids have it a lot worse than you…” 418
“You don't know how difficult it is... You'll understand when you become a parent!” 418
"You and your siblings fought all the time!" 418
"You all drove us crazy!" 418
"We didn't know what else to do!" 418
“That’s how I was raised!” 419
“The Bible instructs parents to spank their kids, this is for your own good” my parents would say. 420
"Well so-and-so was disciplined and turned out just fine!" 420
“If we didn't beat you, you would have done ‘xyz’ immoral or illegal thing!” 421
“This person turned out badly because he was not spanked enough as a child!” 422
“It’s hard to be a peaceful parent when they’re not being peaceful kids!” 423
“I was spanked - and I turned out fine!” 425
“Kids need to learn to respect and obey their parents!” 426
"I didn't want to only be a parent. I wanted to have a career too!" 427
"I'm not a perfect parent, but (s)he's not a perfect kid either!" 429
"Kids are resilient. They'll survive." 430
"I didn't know you were unhappy!" 431
"I always tried to listen to you kids!" 432
"I've become a better person since then!" 434
"I'll always be your mother, I deserve forgiveness!" 435
"The parenting books/therapist at the time said to let you work it out on your own!" 435
“I guess I didn’t do anything right!” 436
My mother used to say: "One day you'll thank me for this" after beating me when I was a child. 437
Bibliography 440
Needs a Home: 446
Free play and executive function. 446
Twin Differences in Harsh Parenting Predict Youth’s Antisocial Behavior 446
The enduring effect of maltreatment on antisocial behavior 447
“Thirty-nine infants with rib fractures were identified. Thirty-two (82%) were caused by child abuse. “ 447
