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    The Children's Book Review

    The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed | Book Spotlight

    Bianca SchulzeBy Bianca Schulze2 Mins Read General
    The Gift of Failure
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    Prizes and samples provided by HarperCollins
    The Children’s Book Review | August 21, 2015

    The Gift of Failure

      Age Range: Adult Non-Fiction

      Hardcover: 304 pages

      About the Book

      The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

      Written by Jessica Lahey

      Publisher’s Synopsis: In the tradition of Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed and Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, this groundbreaking manifesto focuses on the critical school years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that occur from life’s inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults.

      Modern parenting is defined by an unprecedented level of overprotectiveness: parents who rush to school at the whim of a phone call to deliver forgotten assignments, who challenge teachers on report card disappointments, mastermind children’s friendships, and interfere on the playing field. As teacher and writer Jessica Lahey explains, even though these parents see themselves as being highly responsive to their children’s well being, they aren’t giving them the chance to experience failure—or the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems.

      Overparenting has the potential to ruin a child’s confidence and undermine their education, Lahey reminds us. Teachers don’t just teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. They teach responsibility, organization, manners, restraint, and foresight—important life skills children carry with them long after they leave the classroom.

      Providing a path toward solutions, Lahey lays out a blueprint with targeted advice for handling homework, report cards, social dynamics, and sports. Most importantly, she sets forth a plan to help parents learn to step back and embrace their children’s failures. Hard-hitting yet warm and wise, The Gift of Failure is essential reading for parents, educators, and psychologists nationwide who want to help children succeed.

      Adults | Publisher: HarperCollins | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0062299239

      Available Here: 

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      Buy on Amazon
      About the Author

      Jessica Lahey is an educator, speaker, and writer. She has been an English, Latin, and writing teacher in middle and high school for over a decade, writes the bi-weekly “Parent-Teacher Conference” advice column for The New York Times, is a contributing writer at the Atlantic, and appears as a commentator on Vermont Public Radio. Jessica earned a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration in juvenile and education law. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two sons.

      What to Read Next:

      1. The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money | Book Spotlight
      2. Growing Up Mindful, by Christopher Willard, PsyD
      3. The Big Bed, by Bunmi Laditan | Book Spotlight
      4. No Longer Just a Hope: Children With Disabilities Can Be Successful Readers

      *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

      Jessica Lahey Parenting
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      Bianca Schulze
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      Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

      1 Comment

      1. Bianca Schulze on September 21, 2015 9:38 am

        Congratulations to these 3 lucky winners: Denise T., Philip H., and Daniel M.!

        Reply
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