Parent Bookshelf

I've had this book on my bookshelf for about a year now and consider it my 'go to text' for any student who is having a bit of a hard time with their confidence, or seems to be experiencing some emotional trouble of varying intensities.

I consider it a valuable text because it not only helps to identify potential emotional problems, it provides checklists to consult and also recommends the next steps should you need further support.

In the words of the publisher:

"In The Optimistic Child, Dr. Martin Seligman offers parents, teachers, and coaches a well-validated program to prevent depression in children. In a thirty-year study, Seligman and his colleagues discovered the link between pessimism -- dwelling on the most catastrophic cause of any setback -- and depression. Seligman shows adults how to teach children the skills of optimism that can help them combat depression, achieve more on the playing field and at school, and improve their physical health."

The author, Martin Seligman is considered the 'father' of the positive psychology movement which provides the foundation for many emotional well-being programs in schools. A welcome relief from the 'self-esteem' generation I grew up with in the 1980s!

Please just pop me an email if you'd like to borrow the book for a read in your own time or, you can purchase the text here.

Parent Bookshelf

In the last School Holidays I was finally overcome with curiousity, so I bought and read 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother' by Amy Chua.

If you would like to borrow it and read it for yourself just let me know and I am happy to lend it to you, I can send it home with your child.

I wont tell you what I really think of it, but I certainly think it's worth a read!

As quoted on Amazon.com:

Chua imparts the secret behind the stereotypical Asian child's phenomenal success: the Chinese mother. Chua promotes what has traditionally worked very well in raising children: strict, Old World, uncompromising values--and the parents don't have to be Chinese. What they are, however, are different from what she sees as indulgent and permissive Western parents: stressing academic performance above all, never accepting a mediocre grade, insisting on drilling and practice, and instilling respect for authority. Chua and her Jewish husband (both are professors at Yale Law) raised two girls, and her account of their formative years achieving amazing success in school and music performance proves both a model and a cautionary tale.