The Character Clock

About the Book

The Character Clock provides prescriptive knowledge for parents of difficult children; yet my message is for all our caring society.

We have created a culture that has made life so "happy" fun directed and self-oriented that we are rearing children with few basic character skills. Working with parents struggling with these children has given me the opportunity to view the roots of character disorder and character development.

In the mental health community it is unorthodox, radical - even revolutionary to suggest that too much comfort and too many unconditional positives are destructive. Yet children reared with this free flow of "goodies" are corrupted by it and have no motivation to grow towards their own future with self-improvement hunger. Also these self-preoccupied children don't reach out to learn the skills of empathy and love.

Parents who yield too much control give their child a deadly gift: the power to hang on to the baby behavior, which is easy and familiar. No one rushes to give up the behavior of a three-year old: won't do it unless it's fun, easy dominance through aggression, and the classic trap of "It's not my fault."

Parents who take control early to guide and train the hard skills of personal maturity will have a child character, who bonds with them and society. Parent's who don't struggle forever with a selfish, defiant, poorly motivated child who moves to adulthood the same character is stunted.

This parenting process requires the early introduction of some reality-based discomfort into the child's life to induce receptivity to growth messages. This is a principle of life that we have lost in our affluent, super secure, fun loving culture. We need joyous fulfillment in adulthood and not shallow fun in childhood.

About the Author

Dr. Partridge does not address child development issues from the podium of an ivory tower. He has been a practicing clinical development psychologist specializing in treating problems of unmotivated and out of control children for over thirty years. After earning his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1962, Dr. Partridge's initial front-line experience was in juvenile justice and community mental health where he began specializing in child differential diagnosis and family therapy. Early years in private practice he began to focus his professional efforts towards treatment of children with persistent and profound character disfunction.

Three years were spent as a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of behavior and motivational problems of children with learning and developmental disabilities while at the Children's Health Council at Stanford University, Palo Alto. During his extensive career he broadened his experience as a civilian child/family consultant for three years to the American Military Community in Central Europe, at the U.S. Command Hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany. More recently, consultation and clinical practice in the San Fransico Bay area combined differential diagnosis and behavioral and learning disorders with special focus on the central nervous system disabilities. Private practice efforts continued with families and schools on behalf of the children with motivational, social and behavioral immaturity.

Recent professional involvement took Dr. Partridge to Monterey, California as a director of "Character Skills" demonstration project funded by Harden Foundation grant. This program has demonstrated that with early identification and intervention, teaching parents critical child guidance and training skills, troubled primary school children can be turned from character immaturity to full character development. Indeed, 84% success was attained (in changing school behavior and effort) in two months, with overall success of 90%. The demonstration phase is now being followed by dissemination to mental health and school professionals.

Throughout his professional efforts Dr. Partridge has maintained focus on self- destructing kids and his increasing awareness that parents do not develop real concern until it's too late for change and growth. All about him he sees desperate parents seeking costly therapy from mental health practitioners which is totally ineffective--and actually makes the problem worse! Treating out-of-balance, super-secure kids with intervention designed to augment comfort and confidence, in reality provides these youngsters with engorged and harden egos, leaving them with no interest in growth or change, and no inclination to reach out or empathize with others.