num_pages: 243
description: In the tradition of Paul Toughs How Children Succeed and Wendy Mogels 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 lifes inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful resilient and self-reliant adultsModern 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 childrens 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 childrens well-being they arent giving them the chance to experience failureor the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems.Overparenting has the potential to ruin a childs confidence and undermine their education Lahey reminds us. Teachers dont just teach reading writing and arithmetic. They teach responsibility organization manners restraint and foresightimportant 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 childrens failures. Hard-hitting yet warm and wise The Gift of Failure is essential reading for parents educators and psychologists nationwide who want to help their children succeed.
language: English
title: The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
publisher: Harper