Customer Reviews

Self Esteem A Family Affair

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is good advice here, and know I will refer to the book often. But, there were two things that bothered me while I read it. First, some parts are hard to follow. An example is when the author gives real life examples of families. Family members and friends are often mentioned when they haven't been introduced yet, so as I read along, another name suddenly pops up,and I must stop and figure out "who is this?" Only after going back and then reading all the way through the paragraph again do I figure out the relationships. Second, the advice is really only based in the things we say to our loved ones. Communication is great, but simply saying these "magical phrases" alone is not enough. Before saying any of these affirmations to someone, it might be useful to ask questions to understand where they're coming from and if they even want affirming. It seems like the author presumes you already know when these affirmations are useful.

How parents treat their children it is determinating for them. The influence parents have on their children is important enough to make them paying attention how they behave with them. This book helps me to understand how the massages we send to our children when we say or we act can help them or tear them down. I love the "four ways of parenting" that explains in theorical and practical way. I strongly recommend this book for parents.

Emotional development is the key to childhood success and happiness. This book provides basic stages of developmental stages that children grow through that helps validates the child, and allows the parents a whole new level of understanding of what it is they did to do to support that growth. My "lists of affirmation"s and reminders of what my children's needs were at each level, helped me appreciate and lowered my anxiety with the changes that naturally occur at each stage they went through. I wish all parents were given this book when they left the hospital with their little bundle of joy!

I was very hopeful for this book, based on the other positive reviews. But I was extremely disappointed. The book spends almost all of its time on case studies, giving examples of people's situations and what they should and shouldn't do. If an example happens to fit your situation, perhaps you will find it helpful. I did not. Almost every paragraph in the book starts with the name of one of the fictional characters, and even the summaries at the end of each chapter were written in context of the characters. I found this annoying and unhelpful. I was looking for more insights that will stimulate my thinking for my own life.

This book uses a very clear paradiagm to analyse the different kinds of messages we give our kids. It teaches a person to be aware of the effect of what we are saying. It also can enlighten a person to the way in which they speak to themselves and to foster positive self talk. I would highly recommend this book.

This is the most user-friendly parenting advice book I have ever read, out of a mountain of parenting books. It gives these practical suggestions for enhancing your child's and your own self-esteem. The concrete examples and clear explanations of the reasoning behind the suggestions make this my favorite parenting book.

Jean Illsley Clarke has given parents and families a real gift with this book. Our family has benefitted so much from her insights, that we were able to understand and apply right away.
Ms. Clark also wrote the foreword for the children's picture book If I Ran the Family, which presents many of these same principles for parents and kids to read together.

I read this book in the wee ours of the morning when my child was a crying infant. It has been a great part of bringing her up as a self assured young lady.

Now I am buying a copy to give to my daughetr because she has a child of the same age.