"Every parent has to deal with a common set of issues. Whether it be getting children to eat healthy meals, encouraging toddlers to use the toilet, engage in socially acceptable play or simply to behave well in public, parents have to use what they have to get through the day. Parentonomics recounts how an economist dealt with parenting using the things he knew best: economics and incentives. It is a story of the trade-offs parents face and the limitations of using rewards to get the behaviour you might desire. In dealing with his three children, Joshua Gans, an economics professor uses every trick in the book. Sometimes he is successful, such as doing deals with babies to get them to sleep through the night. Other times, it is a tale of dramatic failure; like using treats to speed up toilet training. But each is a topic, parents will find familiar, thought-provoking and often fairly amusing."--Provided by publisher.