Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Real Purpose of Parenting  By  cover art

The Real Purpose of Parenting

By: Dr. Phillip B Dembo
Narrated by: Dr. Phillip B Dembo
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $29.90

Buy for $29.90

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The Real Purpose of Parenting is a series of stories and life lessons from the world of a therapist, known as The Parent Coach. Very well-intentioned, well meaning parents are at the point of crisis with their kids because their own best parenting efforts are NOT producing the children they want them to be. And there, according to Dr. Phil Dembo, lies the problem.

In The Real Purpose of Parenting, even the best parents are capable of smothering the growth of their kid’s life. This can happen because the truth of who the child is, and what the child truly needs is often overlooked or ignored in the agenda that many parents lay out for their kids. Thus...often landing the family in a colossal melt down.

Dr. Dembo shows simple family “turn around” strategies that reframe the real purpose of parenting and gives each family, and child, their own salvation.

©2012 Dr. Phillip B. Dembo (P)2012 Gildan Media, LLC

Critic reviews

“If only we all could have had Dr. Phil Dembo as our father! His book reads less as a self-help manual and more like insights from a wise elder.” (Vickie Falcone, M.A., author of Buddha Never Raised Kids & Jesus Didn’t Drive Carpool: Seven Principles for Parenting With Soul)

What listeners say about The Real Purpose of Parenting

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    111
  • 4 Stars
    87
  • 3 Stars
    43
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    13
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    22
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    76
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This book changed my life and relationships!!

Where does The Real Purpose of Parenting rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is one of the shortest but also the most profound books on audible!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Real Purpose of Parenting?

The stories that he tells hit so close to home. The entire book was full of memorable moments. I will not forget any of the hypothetical family characters.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration takes a while to get used to. Dr. Dembo has a strong Midwest accent. He does a great job of narrating once you get used to the accent. I'm glad I kept listening!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story of the family whose oldest son is in law school, the story of the girl who asked for more time with her parents, and the overall concept of a persons identity vs. their family's expectations of them were all very moving. They helped me understand, as a 26 yr old, why I felt so lost and unhappy, and how to confront those feelings without 'going underground.'

Any additional comments?

Please write more books Dr. Dembo!!!!!!!!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

This book will change your life. It explains how parents want children to be the same as them, held up to their standards. But it's much more than that. It's a whole different way of looking at the world. It changed my world view. This book is a must read. Not only that, the author is entertaining and tells about case studies which really livens up the book. It's excellent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Parenting "must read" essential

This is wonderfully written, easily understood and very logical. If you are a parent of a challenging teenager, this is a great reference for motivation and consequences.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

MUST READ/LISTEN AUDIO BOOK FOR FATHERS!!!!

What made the experience of listening to The Real Purpose of Parenting the most enjoyable?

The author relates to the readers with authentic experience and is emotionally one with the reader's concern to succeed as a father.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made me reflect and think on my personal parenting choices and how they affect my children long term. It made me confront the reality of parenting, the seriousness of its effect on another human being (my kids), and helped me to realistically assess my overall parenting/leadership/role-model/coaching skills.

Any additional comments?

this book will convince and convict you to try harder to love, forgive, be patient, be a coach, be a leader, be a motivator, be a good listener, and be understanding to your children.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Author is self-important and pedantic

What was most disappointing about Dr. Phillip B Dembo’s story?

First off, the tone and tenor of Dr. Dembo just sounded pedantic to me. Also, I absolutely hated that he so easily categorized a child as "not a student". What does that mean anyways? Every child is a student - everyone is a student... we all have different learning styles. If every child went to see Dr. Dembo, they would turn out to be the VERY antithesis of the children Tiger Moms hope to raise - accepting mediocrity and lacking discipline. I detest what Tiger Mom stands for, but in Dr. Dembo's office, there is no room for those who believe that practice - sometimes grueling, difficult, undesirable, not fun kind -makes perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best parenting book and life book I've ever read

If you could sum up The Real Purpose of Parenting in three words, what would they be?

Fantastic. Life changing.

What did you like best about this story?

How simply understood his message was.

What does Dr. Phillip B Dembo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads this book, so the flow and heart in the book resonates through his voice.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from The Real Purpose of Parenting?

I am currently putting into practice what I learned from Dr. Dembo with my nephew who is being raised by my parents. I also have a little girl and don't want to parent how my parents' parented. Understanding the dynamics of family struggles and clarifying the pitfalls we go through will help guide me to respond and not react.

Any additional comments?

Dr. Dembo is absolutely amazing!!!! I wish I had known him when I was younger. I wish my parents had known him. The world will be a much better place with this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good listen for parents

Great to get another perspective. Stick with the book - once he got into the examples in chapter 6 it started coming together better for me. We started writing our family constitution and my 4 and 5 year old are really enjoying it. I've always valued being up front with expectations and consequences so this book helped me recharge.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, but hard to listen to.

I thoroughly enjoyed the message Dr. Bembo had to share in this book. His take on parenting is inspiring and I hope I am able to implement a lot of the advice.

On the down side his voice and inflection were a bit dry to listen to. Things like speaking the word "sigh" instead of just sighing was a bit weird for me. But he is a doctor not a voice talent so I tried to look past that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply Awesome

What did you love best about The Real Purpose of Parenting?

The concepts and philosophy are so important for every parent and every child. Hearing it from the authors own voice made it that much more powerful. Simply an awesome experience!

What did you like best about this story?

There were so many stories in this book that are relevant to life and families today. I found myself having trouble turning off the audio.

Have you listened to any of Dr. Phillip B Dembo’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

To my knowledge, this is his first performance and I felt he was just wonderful. His passion could be felt in every word he spoke.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Real Purpose Of Parenting
The Film You Wish Your Parents Saw

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great parenting concepts, delivery could be better

Any additional comments?

Dr. Dembo outlines a great philosophy that the role of parents is to coach children. I like a lot of the concepts and philosophy that he outlines and will try to use many of the ideas. Athough we might tweak them a bit so they don't sound so academic or negative. For example , rather than having a family meeting maybe we call it the family check in. I also like his suggestions for family rituals and responding to children without emotions. I would actually be very interested in hearing more of his thoughts on responding to childens accomplishments. The book does not really spend time describing how to respond to children's accomplishments and successes, instead it focuses on how parents deal with events they find challenging.

I have to agree with others who commented that the narration was very even toned. I didn't find it as annoying as some of the other readers. After a while you get used to his slow-pace. I think it reflects how he tries to work with children and parents in stressful situations (by remaining calm at all times.) While his attempts at humor are not lol funny, I though they were endearing because you know he's genuinely trying to keep things lighthearted.

My only critique of the books content is that at times the doctor is too academic in his explanation. At times I got lost in his general explanation of the theory. I think it would be more helpful to use more examples to illustrate the concepts; as well as provide alternative responses that parents could have used instead. I assume this is intentional on the doctor's part, that he wants parents to find their own solutions. However, for me examples are the best way to learn soft skills like this that require more practice.

For instance, honoring the intentions of the child's feelings is fairly vague. A few more examples might make the desired behavior clearer. Likewise the cop and Mohawk examples he provides on responding vs reactioning were helpful. I wish he had given more examples or even compared / contrasting responses vs reaction. A side by side comparison would have helped me start to recognize the patterns.

Overall I really enjoyed the book gave it 4 out of 5 stars because I think that concepts are what matters and you can get over the sometimes academic approach.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful