Ivy League-Trained Psychologist: ‘A Parent’s Job Is Never to Make Their Kid Happy’
Ivy League-Trained Psychologist: ‘A Parent’s Job Is Never to Make Their Kid Happy’ Ivy League-Trained Psychologist: ‘A Parent’s Job Is Never to Make Their Kid Happy’ Alternative Title Suggestion: "Why Your Job as a Parent Isn’t to Make Your Child Happy—And What to Do Instead" Every parent wants their child to smile, laugh, and feel joy. But what if chasing happiness for your kids is the wrong goal? Dr. Lisa Damour, an Ivy League-trained clinical psychologist and author of Untangled and Under Pressure , argues that a parent’s job isn’t to make their child happy. Instead, it’s about equipping them with the tools to navigate life’s ups and downs, fostering resilience, emotional intelligence, and independence. This counterintuitive approach, grounded in decades of psychological research, challenges the modern parenting instinct to shield kids from discomfort. In a world where child anxiety rates have risen 20% since 2010, according to a ...