Ever since Bill Milliken, a Christian minister working with at-risk youth in New York’s lower East Side, wrote a book in 1968 by the title, Tough Love, the phrase he coined has caught on like hot cakes. It is used by people in the field of education, by addiction programs, by parenting counselors, by sports coaches, even by legislators making policy about food stamps and social welfare. Yet as Milliken recently acknowledges, the concept has been used to justify disciplinary programs that are harsh, even abusive. Yet much truth resides in his concept, and one that parents can learn and grow from in ways that will positively affect their children.
