The parent screaming from the touchline at an eight-year-old to make an overlapping run; the pregnant mother playing Mozart to her unborn baby; the rigid schedule for babies, which develops into an agenda of activities for a young child - all these are familiar instances of hyper-parenting. With the pressure growing all the time for children to get into the best schools and universities, or to develop their nascent talents and become the next Tiger Woods or Williams sister, it has never been more difficult to be a child. In Carl Honore's brilliant follow-up to IN PRAISE OF SLOW he makes an impassioned call for parents and teachers to allow children to grow up at a slower rate.

He takes us on a journey round the world in search of a new formula for parenting and childhood. He talks to a range of experts and sifts through the latest research to find what problems parents, teachers and children face, and to seek out the best solutions. Honore shows how 'slow parenting' will benefit both the child and the parents, and ensure that we create happier children and calmer parents.