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37th out of 60 books
—
3 voters
Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents
What do we wish most for our children? Next to being healthy, we want them to be happy, of course! Fortunately, a wide array of scientific studies show that happiness is a learned behavior, a muscle we can help our children build and maintain.
Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own...more
Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
February 2nd 2010
by Ballantine Books
(first published January 28th 2010)
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This book got some nice mentions on BoingBoing and I'll agree that it's a good read. Carter does a nice job of distilling a lot of science that's been done about the effect of various parenting techniques into ten lessons with tips and takeaways. A few thoughts:
* Steps one, two, and nine are broad approaches having to do with setting up a joyful environment. Some of these seem obvious to me (interview and carefully consider your child care providers?) while some are good reminders or new inform...more
* Steps one, two, and nine are broad approaches having to do with setting up a joyful environment. Some of these seem obvious to me (interview and carefully consider your child care providers?) while some are good reminders or new inform...more
Today’s book was formally a parenting book on raising happy kids, written by Christine Carter, PhD, but was definitely a book that had some transferable lessons for anyone. Carter is a happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and has two kids, whom she regularly uses as examples during the course of the book.
As someone who used to read exclusively non-fiction books, I feel I’m a pretty good critic of a book like this–even a parenting one–before I get too far into it. I defin...more
As someone who used to read exclusively non-fiction books, I feel I’m a pretty good critic of a book like this–even a parenting one–before I get too far into it. I defin...more
I appreciate what Carter is trying to do here, and I wanted to like this book more. There were a few helpful takeaways, but somehow I'm left with the panicky feeling that I should be doing MORE! and Different! and The Opposite of What Common Sense Would Dictate! and it's a bit overwhelming. Futhermore, despite the statistics Carter cites (and I've seen similar ones in Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project), I remain largely unconvinced that my doing things "right" as a parent will magically imp...more
I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I thought I was going to find it compelling, hard to put down...that it would make me a better parent. I'm not sure it did any of those things. I do think I know more about Christine Carter's kids than I ever needed to know. There was not enough science and WAY too much "Though I'm writing this book, I screw up a LOT". Many people might find the author's willingness to point out her own mistakes to be refreshing or make her more accessable, but...more
This is a relatively short, interesting book, that could have been much shorter still if the author had gotten rid of all of the repetition. Several of the ideas are common sense (parental involvement), others are good reminders (practice gratitude), and a few were interesting (how to best praise your children and avoid common traps like perfectionism). Worth a quick spin through and got some ideas of things I will try, although Barrett is definitely on the very young side of the spectrum in whi...more
I read a lot of parenting books for insight and inspiration, and don't usually put them on goodreads since I don't ever get through the whole thing, just read bits and pieces. But I really loved this one and read the whole thing. It distills most of the advice from other books into smaller and more doable chunks, providing the research behind it, and then great ideas she used to implement it. So whereas you might read a whole book on emotional intelligence, here you can read one insightful chapt...more
Very readable with some good reminders and practical advice.
Ten steps to raising happy kids, and being happier yourself. Sounds pretty simple. Look after yourself first, build a village, encourage effort, Choose gratitude, teach emotional intelligence explicitly, motivate through empathy and reason, teach self-discipline, Live in the now, let kids learn social and problem solving skills through play in a nurturing environment, eat dinner together. All good stuff, written in an engaging manner with plenty of anecdotes about how the author got it wrong on...more
If you have kids of any age, this is worth a read. It provides several useful and easy to implement tips that are well supported by research. The best part of this book in my opinion is its emphasis on empirical research. Carter consistently cites the big names in the field. What I didn't really care for was Carter's over reliance on personal stories about her kids to illustrate the points. In some places the book can read a little like a memoir. Some people might really like this aspect of it b...more
I can't even remember at this point how I came across this book, but boy am I glad I read it. I am a happy person and I was very interested in reading about how to raise happy children, how to give your children the tools to find happiness within themselves and be able to problem solve and face difficult challenges.
The author breaks this book into 10 chapters, each covering a concept: Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First; Build a Village; Expect Effort, Forgiveness and Optimism; Raise Their Emotio...more
The author breaks this book into 10 chapters, each covering a concept: Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First; Build a Village; Expect Effort, Forgiveness and Optimism; Raise Their Emotio...more
Very interesting thoughtful book. Not hokey. The author is not speaking as the epitome of perfect parenting and makes that clear.
Some atrocious editing errors, for example the Italian educational philosophy that has taken the world of early education by storm is NOT Emilio Reggio.
But I tried not to be overcome by the editing errors
I think this book will be a helpful resource for some of the parents I work with at nursery school.
Probably most directly helpful to the parents of children under 12.
Some atrocious editing errors, for example the Italian educational philosophy that has taken the world of early education by storm is NOT Emilio Reggio.
But I tried not to be overcome by the editing errors
I think this book will be a helpful resource for some of the parents I work with at nursery school.
Probably most directly helpful to the parents of children under 12.
I am so happy that I have bought this book and read it in less than a week.
It is recently published (2010) and it's packed with the latest research studies and findings (mostly post-2000) related to raising happy children in today's challenging and consumer-based world! The studies presented help parents apply the techniques in a simple day-to-day manner. The author suggests very practical and easy parenting methods to apply in every day life.
I have already put into practice so many things tha...more
It is recently published (2010) and it's packed with the latest research studies and findings (mostly post-2000) related to raising happy children in today's challenging and consumer-based world! The studies presented help parents apply the techniques in a simple day-to-day manner. The author suggests very practical and easy parenting methods to apply in every day life.
I have already put into practice so many things tha...more
There's some good info in this book and helpful reminders on how to focus on what's important, especially as a parent. If you like more background on the why behind recommended strategies, you'll like what is provided in this book. If you're a "less is more" reader, you might find yourself skipping through some of the research and rationales. I did but it could be no fault of the book and my impatience only. I've also been reading lots of business books for my work right now, and wanted to read...more
A really good parenting book. Most of the principles were not new, but I liked the way the author gave practical ways of implementing the concepts in her "Try this" sections. It was well-written. It didn't make me feel guilty. Like all parenting books, there is a plethora of good advice, mostly for a little older kids (3+). This book seemed unique in that I wasn't overwhelmed. I felt like I really could do what the author suggested and start with just one area, one technique. It wasn't condescen...more
Christine Carter, author, is the ED of Greater Good Foundation in Berkeley - an interdisciplinary research center that translates the study of happiness, compassion, and altruism. Her book was a helpful, insightful look at how to cultivate happiness in our kids (and ourselves in the process). It touched on some of the same themes and research from other books I've been reading. It didn't blow me away, but it was good food for thought.
This author is a socialogist who works out of the Center for Greater Good at Berkeley. We're hoping to have her speak at our preschool, so I read the book. She subtitled it "10 Simple Steps," but they didn't seem very simple to me. I'm not in a great mood right now. I thought reading about happiness might help, but it just seems like too much work! I'll revisit this once my mood improves.
A lot of solidly good advice but the delivery is a bit labored and slow. As others have noted, there is maybe too much anecdotal evidence from the author's own circle of acquaintances rather than a focus on the science. Still, this book touched on probably all the great advice I've heard from in multiple other books on happiness so it's a nice resource.
In addition to all the YA I've been reading, I've been reading books in an attempt to feel like I know how to be a good mother. Even though some of the ideas are pretty obvious, Carter gives some really practical strategies in dealing with conflicts and some other really good ideas that I plan on trying when my daughter gets a little older.
Lots of good practices in this book. It may not be the end-all message for parenting, but it is based on research and chock full of valuable action plans.
By the way, it is not a book about making your kids feel happy all the time. Raising Happiness addresses the emotional needs of human beings. Happy kids who grow up to be successful (I know these are vague adjectives in themselves, but they are defined to a certain extent for the book's purposes) have had moments of failure and forged habits of...more
By the way, it is not a book about making your kids feel happy all the time. Raising Happiness addresses the emotional needs of human beings. Happy kids who grow up to be successful (I know these are vague adjectives in themselves, but they are defined to a certain extent for the book's purposes) have had moments of failure and forged habits of...more
OK, I didn't really read it. I skimmed it. (It was due back at the library and I couldn't renew it because it had a hold on it.) But the points she makes are good and I like the fact-based suggestions (big list of references in the back). I'll try and get it again later, for a more in depth read and just to remind myself of the things that matter.
I love the Half Full Blog, and this book is a great report on the things that have appeared in that book. The book fleshes out some of the topics that were covered briefly in the blog. I think if someone were to read only a couple of books about raising children, this should be one of them.
I wanted to like this book but couldn't get past the first few chapters, and found myself skimming those. A lot of it seemed to focus as much on one's own happiness as one's children's, and for that topic I like Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project better.
EVERYONE needs to read this! The ideas are fantastic--especially the chapter on emotion coaching. I am currently reading a book referred by Christine Carter in this book called Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child that is also a fantastic find!
In terms of parenting books, this is a 4 because the tips are not redundant, overly-simplistic or expressing one particular point of view. And they really do seem to make sense. I adopted a few immediately and passed the book on to my husband. We'll see if my kid wants to do zen meditation...
I think that I will use a lot of the pointers in this book and I appreciate that it has so many useful tips. It's also good to know that I am already doing some of the things in this book.
After reading this, I'm more sure than ever that I'm missing the mark with my parenting. Good science, counsel, & clarity... now to shift MY efforts & apply it! Oy vay...
I loved this book! I should read it again when I have preschoolers. :) I will for sure use knowledge I gained in this book raising my own kids and while teaching.
Will read this book over and over. It's a perfect blend of ideas and insight that will help both the reader as an adult, and the parent in raising their children.
I really agreed with Christine Carter's philosophy (though it's based on research). I also learned some things to try with Ben and Mad. Great read for parents.
I loved this book. I think it is spot-on. It is both an enjoyable read ad leaves me with lots of tools to help teach my kids happiness habits.
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Dec 31, 2012 06:19am