With all the parenting information out there and the constant pressure
to be the "perfect" parent, it seems as if many parents have
lost track of one very important piece of the parenting puzzle:
raising happy kids.
Parenting today has gotten far too complicated. It's never been the
easiest job in the world, but with all the "parenting advice" parents
are met with at every corner, it's hard not to become bewildered. It
seems that in the past it was a good deal simpler. You made sure there
was dinner on the table and the kids got to school on time and no one
set anything on fire, and you called it a success. But today everybody
has a different method for dealing with the madness--attachment
parenting, free-range parenting, mindful parenting. And who is to say
one is more right or better than another? How do you choose?
The truth is that whatever drumbeat you march to, all parents would
agree that we just want our kids to be happy. It seems like a
no-brainer, right? But in the face of all the many parenting theories
out there, happiness feels like it has become incidental. That's where
The Happy Kid Handbook by child and adolescent psychotherapist and
parenting expert Katie Hurley comes in. She shows parents how happiness
is the key to raising confident, capable children. It's not about giving
in every time your child wants something so they won't feel bad when you
say no, or making sure that they're taking that art class, and the
ballet class, and the soccer class (to help with their creativity and
their coordination and all that excess energy). Happiness is about
parenting the individual, because not every child is the same, and not
every child will respond to parenting the same way. By exploring the
differences among introverts, extroverts, and everything in between,
this definitive guide to parenting offers parents the specific
strategies they need to meet their child exactly where he or she needs
to be met from a social-emotional perspective. A back-to-basics guide to
parenting, The Happy Kid Handbook is a must-have for any parent hoping
to be the best parent they can be.
