Michaeleen Doucleff

"The oldest cultures in the world have mastered the art of raising happy, well-adjusted children. What an we learn from them As a science reporter, Dr Michaeleen Doucleff took a trip to Mexico that was to change her life forever. Visiting a Maya village in the Yucatâan Peninsula, she encountered parents who treat their kids in a totally different way to us - without shouting, nagging or issuing time-outs. Fascinated by what she saw, Doucleff set out with her three-year-old daughter in tow to study and practise parenting strategies from families in three of the world's most venerable communities: Maya families in Mexico, Inuit families above the Arctic Circle and Hadzabe families in Tanzania. In these cultures, parents build a relationship with young children that is vastly different from the one many Western parents develop - a relationship built on cooperation instead of control and trust instead of fear."