The SKILL-ionaire in Every Child: Boosting Children's Socio-Emotional Skills Using the Latest in Brain Research
Skill Boosting Conversations: A breakthrough method to raise competent, compassionate and socially intelligent kids! Many young people today struggle with social and emotional issues such as low self-esteem, fears, anger, bullying, body image, and depression. The standard approach used in families, schools, and counseling centers, is to focus on what is "going wrong", and solve kids' problems. Yet, a wide body of recent brain research shows that socio-emotional skills are best cultivated and secured by experiences that evoke positive emotions. Is it possible to address problems and evoke positive emotions? Yes, it is! Instead of dwelling on how to reduce a child's impatience for example, you can boost the skill of patience. In this inspiring book, psychologist Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin teaches adults how to engage young people in "skill-boosting conversations" (SBC), a cutting-edge method to help them identify and further enrich the unique problem-solving strategies that work best for them.REVIEWSI wish this incitingly wise book had been available to me earlier in my life. The skills that are honed so well in The SKiLL-ionaire are essential for creating a social fitness program for children of all ages. It is an essential reading for this time in the life of our nation.-PHILIP G. ZIMBARDO, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Stanford University Author of The Shy Child, Lucifer Effect and Time ParadoxMarie-Nathalie Beaudoin has written an invaluable primer on an   overlooked topic: how to build children's awareness of their everyday   competent actions.  Integrating the latest neurobiological and   developmental research with her own sharp observations and clinical   savvy, she provides a practical, easy-to-follow method for supporting   children's skills.  This book is a must read for parents and educators   of all stripes.-KAETHE WEINGARTEN, Ph.D. Associate Professor Harvard Medical School"This is one of the most exciting new approaches to parenting and adult-child communication I've ever seen. If you interact with children on any regular basis, read this book."-CAROLINE PINCUS, book publisher and parent"I am thrilled to have discovered a book that gives me the tools to not only better address students' immediate issues, but also support them in learning to calm themselves, organize their thoughts, and develop self-worth and confidence. I have seen the real effects of this method, and parents have been amazed at how students are maturing and solving their problems in a positive, caring manner."-LORI KING, Principal, Washington Open Elementary School, Santa Clara, CAIn this innovative and useful book, Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin teaches readers how to engage young people in reflecting on and appreciating the skills and knowledge they show in their daily lives. Using clear and interesting real-life examples, this book provides a detailed map of a specific conversational method that is applicable for parents, educators and counselors. Drawing on the latest neuroscience of brain development, it shows parents a way to help children lay neural foundations that will let them organize their thoughts and learn from reflection on their successes. It describes how to help children and adolescents manifest confidence, optimism, and compassion. We don't know of any other book that is so positive and so immediately usable for adults who want to help young people become the best citizens of our world that they can be. This is a contribution of the highest order.-GENE COMBS, M.D. andJILL FREEDMAN, M.S.W. authors of Narrative Therapy: The social construction of preferred realities."As parents, educators and therapists, we are always wondering how to interact with the young people in our lives, in a way that helps them achieve the hopes and dreams we have for them. Beaudoin has delivered a clear, straightforward, extraordinary manual on how to invite our children in realizing their potential. When you'll put these ideas in practice, you will surely also, find a "skill-ionaire" within yourself."-JEFFREY L. ZIMMERMAN, Ph.D. Co-Author of If Problems Talked: Narrative Therapy in ActionBeaudoin rejects the prevailing, century old fixation on problems, and instead offers a, courageous and fresh look at how to cultivate a rich sense of optimism and personal agency in young people's lives. She urges readers to consider the notion that we can literally, train our own and our children's brain to respond differently to life. Drawing heavily from her strong narrative therapy background and the remarkable new neuroscience of happiness, she offers us a compelling and inspiring approach for parents, educators and counselors alike. This extraordinary book is a treasure chest, brimming with innovative ideas and artful examples of  how to "light up the natural genius" and discover the SkiLL-ionaire and in every child.-JIM DUVALLM.Ed.,R.S.W., Director of Training, Hincks-Dellcrest Centre / Gail Appel Institute, Editor, Journal of Systemic Therapies, Co-author of Innovations in Narrative Therapy: Connecting Practice, Training and Research