The gardener and the carpenter

In this book, Alison Gopnik illuminates the paradoxes of parenthood from a scientific perspective and challenges the myth of 'good parenting'.

She argues that the contemporary approach to parenting, which has become obsessive, controlling, and goal-oriented, is not only based on bad science but also detrimental to both children and parents.

Gopnik draws on human evolution and her own research to show that children are designed to be messy, unpredictable, playful, and imaginative, and that caring for them should not involve shaping them into a particular type of adult.