The Resilient Child: Seven Essential Lessons for Your Child's Happiness and Success

by George S. Everly Jr., Sloane Brown (With)

For years, Dr. George Everly’s clinical practice has focused on helping adults recover from the physical and mental illnesses caused by excessive stress. He concluded that such treatment would not have been necessary if they had been taught to better manage stress early in life. Unlike many books on this subject, this one does not promote stress reduction techniques as such. Instead, it presents seven pillars on which a stress-resilient life may be built. Dr. Everly explains that resisting stress and rebounding are based on strength of character; strength of character is resiliency; and resiliency is based on seven core life lessons that parents can teach their children. Essential actions, beliefs, and codes that shape true resiliency in the face of challenges can — if learned early enough — prevent debilitating stress. Dr. Everly persuasively frames his approach as an “acquired immunity” to the effects of stress in areas from health to relationships and careers.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2008

Reviews

[Omar Amer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, a quick and easy read. Although nothing in this book was revolutionary, I found it had some great lessons (7 lessons) for any new parents or parents to be, in fact, anyone dealing with children in a family or workplace.

[Elise Cohen]

"While children in America are drowning in well-meaning but totally inadequate educational and support systems, Dr. George Everly is throwing their parents a life-line. Resiliency is a key to developing successful relationships, decision making skills, physiologic health, moral integrity, and life satisfaction, and Dr. Everly has written a brief, easy to understand volume showing parents how they can foster this trait within their children's developing characters.[return]The book is divided into three sections: one on actions, one on beliefs, and one on integrity. These make up Dr. Everly's ""A-B-Cs"" of resiliency. The lessons covered include interpersonal support systems; decision making; responsibility; physical health; optimism in the face of adversity; faith; and morailty and integrity. Each lesson is fairly intensively considered for such a slim volume. None of the writings on faith or morality assume any particular religious or other belief system, but rather stand on the ground of assuming the reader parent has some personal set of beliefs which include standards of ethics and morals.[return]I believe that this book is much needed in the parenting and educational world of today's America, and I'm grateful to have found it so well-written and comprehensive. Put aside the old ideas of instilling self-absorption and self-value which have left our children searching for a work- and achievement ethic, and instead consider instilling in them a sense of personal value based on responsibility and integrity. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to enhance their parenting or teaching to help our children grow to become tomorrow's hardworking, confident leaders, more concerned with responsibility and rights than with entitlements."

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very soporific book, and it took me several weeks to read in very short segments before I nodded off each night. For that reason, I'm not sure that much of it will stick with me. There was little here that was surprising or revelatory. The emphasis on teaching optimism strikes me as important, and the advice to maintain one's physical health while avoiding toxic people seems sound.

[Gail Cavanaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for parents, teachers, christians schools for developing character in children. I especially liked the ideas for helping children to choose friends and mentors. In this day and gae it is important for children to know what they are dealing with.