The author "...shows why pushy, hovering 'tiger parents' and permissive 'jellyfish parents' actually hinder self-motivation. She proposes a powerful new parenting model: the intelligent, playful, highly social dolphin. Dolphin parents focus on maintaining balance in their children's lives to gently, yet authoritatively guide them toward lasting health, happiness, and success"-- Front dust jacket flap.

Pt. 1: The dilemma : "I know this doesn't feel right, but everyone else is doing it" ; The reign of the tiger ; What happens to children raised by tigers? -- Pt. 2: The solution : swimming with the dolphins. The twenty-first century is the age of the dolphins ; How do dolphins thrive? -- Pt. 3: Taking action : achieving twenty-first-century success through balance. The basics are first and foremost ; Play is in our nature ; Humans are social beings ; A dolphin parenting toolkit -- Pt. 4: Transformation : living a life of health, happiness, and self-motivation. Self-motivation is lasting ; What happens to children raised the dolphin way? ; Getting back to being human.