Raising Resilient Children: A Curriculum to Foster Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Children - Softcover

Goldstein, Sam; Brooks, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557665990 ISBN 13: 9781557665997

Publisher: Paul H Brookes Pub Co, 2002

Synopsis

How do parents raise children who are happy, successful, and able to thrive in our fast-paced society? This nine-session curriculum and 70-minute companion video provide parents with strategies they can use to ensure their children are emotionally prepared to face any challenges or setbacks life may throw at them. Perfect for parent-education programs, the chapters in the manual and their corresponding video segments cover the seven key guidelines to raising resilient children: Developing a positive parental mindset Teaching and conveying empathy Rewriting negative scripts Disciplining in ways that promote self-discipline and self-worth Teaching children to make decisions and solve problems Loving children in ways that help them to feel special and appreciated Learning from mistakes In-class and at-home activities help parents recognize the crucial role they play in their children's emotional health while real-life examples illustrate how to nurture the inner-strength children need to confront daily challenges and demands. After completing the Raising Resilient Children curriculum, parents will have the skills they need to accomplish their most important job - raising a confident, self-reliant child!

About this title

Review:

Child psychologists Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein are too humble to promise a "sure bet" method for fostering resilience in all children, but their book Raising Resilient Children certainly does an impressive job of upping the ante. The authors open their comprehensive study with two bold questions: Why do many parents insist on pointing out their child's weaknesses and try--in vain--to mend these, when harnessing the child's strengths bolsters self-esteem? And how can parents change their erring ways to help these kids become thoughtful, confident adults? Their answer is a wisely crafted set of 10 essential parenting behaviors ("guideposts")--a prescription of sorts, for nurturing resilience in kids. Ironically, it's the parents who may reap the greatest rewards from putting these guideposts to work.

Drawing heavily from 50 years of combined clinical practice, Brooks and Goldstein conclude that a child's resilience grows its deepest roots in the home, nurtured by parents who incorporate healthy doses of empathy, practical optimism, respect, unconditional love, keen listening skills, and the patience to administer these values every day. Sounds logical, but the gap between knowledge and action is deceptively wide. The authors knowingly share a caseload of tales from their own clients' histories--familiar scenarios of well-meaning parents who say and do counterproductive things. But they also present a treasury of suggestions for righting the wrongs, including detailed steps for rewriting negative parenting scripts, teaching and modeling empathy, and creating opportunities for kids to act responsibly and compassionately. This timely, insightful book will prove an effective tool for parents who are willing to scrutinize--and improve upon--their own resilience. --Liane Thomas

From the Back Cover:

If Beaver of "Leave It to Beaver" were alive today, he might not be doing so well. The increased stress, pressure, and demands on the children of today have caused an alarming increase in childhood depression, health disorders, and antisocial behavior. However, numerous scientific studies of children facing great adversity have shown just how important resilience is for successful growth.

In this much-anticipated work, two renowned child psychologists synthesize a large body of scientific literature on the concept of resilience, making it palatable, understandable, and, most important, practical. Dr. Robert Brooks and Dr. Sam Goldstein not only explore why some kids are able to overcome overwhelming obstacles while others become victims of early experiences and environments but also demonstrate how resilience must be applied to every parenting practice to prepare our children for the challenges of today's complicated, ever-changing world. They also explain how many parents, despite the best intentions, unwittingly undermine their children's capacity for resilience, and they offer effective strategies for identifying and eliminating these "negative scripts."

Raising Resilient Children is an engaging and wise work filled with vivid anecdotes from the authors' own practices that will inspire parents and all others concerned about our youth.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paul H Brookes Pub Co
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1557665990
• ISBN 13: 9781557665997
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112