Raising Resilient Children: Fostering Strength, Hope, and Optimism in Your Child

I must say I'm tempted to give away every single other parenting book I own. This book is the first book to ever "speak" to me. I've spent some time trying to figure out why this book touched me so much. It hit me - resilience is the BIG picture - I CAN operate and understand the big picture and then apply it to my life as a parent. I've spent most of my life as a parent searching for solutions to the little picture problems which change daily and spontaneously. I was never ready. Reading Dr. Brooks' philosophy made me want more than ever to adequately prepare my children for the joys and upsets of life and in two short weeks I'm beginning to feel prepared to do so. In the moments of chaos I feel more connected to the long term and my parenting has changed. Funny how my heart seems to have grown for our two adorable kids as well.

I just had the pleasure of hearing author, Robert Brooks speak at our school about nurturing sef-esteem and resilience in our children. I found his parent friendly book to have the same warm tone that he conveys in person. His lessons and opinions are documented with true case studies and anecdotes from his professional career and peppered with a welcome sense of humor. I am learning to be a more authoritative parent with the specific, practical guidance offered in this book and I see a definite positive change in the way we as parents are communicating with our children. This book has been the key tool in helping us empower our grade school children (10 and 12) with a better attitude towards adversity. If you have toddlers or preschoolers (2's, 3's, 4's, & 5's), we also highly recommend "The Pocket Parent" as a very compatible guide to "Raising Resilient Children". Both books view "Discipline" and "Punishment" as very different procedures and both offer many positive strategies to communicate and discipline (teach children right from wrong) WITHOUT yelling, bribing, nagging, threatening, criticising and punishing. The authors of both books feel we often spend too much time remediating the weaknesses of our children and not enough time identifiying their strengths and seeing that they have ample opportunities to succeed in what they are passionate about and good at. Both authors believe that it is not only important what you need to say to your children, but HOW you choose to say it that can make the difference. We recommend both "RAISING RESILIENT CHILDREN" and "THE POCKET PARENT" for home and school libraries for parents.

As an occupational therapist and mom of a child with a unique learning style, this book has helped me articulate abstract thoughts that help children, in real time, with real issues, succeed. Parents find the book's ideas profound but the tone simple enough to easily implement. As a therapist, I find ideas to integrate into treatment and to help me explain to parents their role in supporting their child's ultimate success or failure. I think families would be so much more successful if this were required reading before they brought their bundles home from the hospitals.

The authors Brooks and Goldstein are obviously aware of the challenges that face parents with ADHD and ODD children. This is evidenced by their list of recommended reading. Too often, the discourse of ADHD and ODD is negative. Brooks and Goldstein challenge parents to think of the talents and "islands of competence" of their children. Such reframing is a breath of fresh air. The authors provide many suggestions on how to encourage children and develop their self-esteem. My only regret with the book was when I came to the last page. I wanted to keep on reading!