Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids and Teens

by Jill L. Adelson, Hope E. Wilson

Proven strategies for helping kids and teens break free of the bonds of perfectionism.

Letting Go of Perfect: Overcoming Perfectionism in Kids and Teens pinpoints a crippling state of mentality among many kids and teens today - the need to be absolutely perfect - and gives parents and teachers the guidance and support they need to help children break free of the anxieties and behaviors related to perfectionism.

For children who believe their best is never good enough, perfectionism can lead to excessive guilt, lack of motivation, low self-esteem, depression, pessimism, obsessive and compulsive behavior, and a sense of rigidity. By delineating the major types of perfectionists and providing practical tips, the authors show parents and teachers how they can help these children effectively control their perfectionist tendencies and use those to their advantage.

This engaging, practical book is a must-have for parents, teachers, and counselors wanting to help children overcome perfectionism, raise self-confidence, lessen guilt, increase motivation, and offer a future free of rigidity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Education, Psychology

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Amber]

Good for other resources

Lots of repetition throughout the beginning chapters that didn't seem necessary. There was a lot of time spent describing traits of a perfectionist, but I already know I have a gifted child leaning toward these tendencies. I was looking for more parenting techniques than were provided. The options contained within were already things I had been using for quite some pretty and seem pretty basic. There have to be more advanced approaches to nip perfectionism in the bud before it becomes too much of an issue.
What I liked was the last chapter with some links to sites containing info regarding aspects of giftedness. I believe I will be referencing those websites more than this book in the future.

[LookBackAtMe]

It wasn't quite as helpful as I'd hoped. I'd say about 50% of the book was reiterating points already made; I ended up just skimming a lot to find pieces of new information.

[Susan]

It was interesting. Seemed aimed primarily toward teachers and parents of elementary school students, however.

[Amy Johns]

There was some useful information in this book, though not as much as I expected. It’s partly written for parents and partly written for teachers, and so some of the content didn’t apply as much to me (not a teacher).

[Shawna]

A pretty good read for teachers and parents alike. The book was a quick read and full of resources and strategies. Many strategies were repetitive, but authors stressed the need to know which strategies worked for individual needs of the child.

[Tiffany]

Helpful! Just the right balance between big concepts to change mindset and smaller, tangible tricks to practice.

[Julia]

Some helpful information for parents and teachers of children (up to age 12) with perfectionistic tendencies. It was very skimmable and a but repetitive, though.