This desire to be good is one of the first things I look for in a child whose parents are encountering trouble in their parenting. There are a number of reasons for a child to not be good, but by far the most crucial is the absence of the desire itself. Sad to say, some children can never measure up to their parents’ expectations because the standards demanded by the parents are hopelessly unrealistic. But if the child’s desire itself is lacking, it does not much matter if the expectations are realistic or not. When I queried the parents of Sean, Melanie, and Kirsten, they all reported that
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