Customer Reviews

Nurture the Nature: Understanding and Supporting Your Child's Unique Core Personality

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Michael Gurian has written a book that gives me the confidence to follow my parenting instincts. Many times, what I thought was the right course of action ran counter to the popular parenting theories of the day. I naturally assumed that I was wrong and gave in to what the "experts" were saying. In this book, Michael Gurian points out that our instincts are usually correct and he gives the scientific background to support this conclusion.
Children are not a "blank slate". They are born with natural tendencies and personalities. As parents, it is our responsibility to provide the support and guidance that allows the child's personality and abilities to shine through. As a result, the child is allowed to grow into the most capable adult possible. Gurian's book gives a parent the resources needed to resist "social trends parenting".
As an educator (I teach math), this book has given me a new appreciation for the individuality of each student. I am reminded that children do not come with a common template and that teaching them as if they did will, in most cases, miss the mark.
For parents, educators, and anyone who deals with children (which includes almost everyone), this is a most important book.

As he has done in earlier books and presentations Michael Gurian again exercises his unique ability to communicate the interlocking realities of nurture and nature in the daunting tasks of raising children. He combines experience and insights from his practice of family therapy, his own parenting evolution and the best thoughts of those helping us understand the rapidly increasing knowledge in neuro-science and gender differences. He presents the reader with an extremely accessible sequence of suggestions for helping children grow from pre-natal to young adult.

Using both his gifts as a story-teller and educator Michael entertains and inspires while providing the reader with specific ideas and methods to be explored. Nurture the Nature invites us to action on behalf of our child and children everywhere.

Michael offers a firm but gentle hand to help us surmount the significant hurdles contemporary life-styles provide. He may occasionally jar us from a treasured accepted practice and generally asks us to rethink our over-dependence on social trends as our primary reference but in it all strongly urges us to discover and nurture our individual child's inborn nature.

As a (not-so-great or grand) great-grandfather I am introducing this book to my extended family and all those with whom I work in education and family relationships. Thank you, Michael, for what has come before and now this wonderful addition to your wise counsel!

Larry Hackett

As an educator and school administrator for more than three decades and a parent of two college-age children, I wish this book had been available for the past 25 years. In Nurture the Nature, Michael Gurian gives the key to raising healthy and happy children: discovering, appreciating and following each child's basic personality. His suggestions are down to earth and just what parents need to hear in our media-dominated culture that sends many unhealthy messages to children and parents. The clearly presented information is carefully connected to scientific research and provides valuable tips for parenting children of all ages. Unlike most books written for parents, it will not overwhelm the readers with what they may be doing wrong, but instead give them the tools to meet the needs of each of their children. For parents, parents-to-be and anyone who works with children, this is a must read book.

Encourages that you follow your own instincts with your children and pay attention to their personalities. Following this advice leads to less stress in parenting and happier children.

Please run dont walk to the nearest bookstore...or at least the amazon store to get this magnificient gem of a book.
Mr Gurian is a wise and loving voice in the arena of parenting.
There exists a golden cord of wisdom within every parent, that connect them to the mind and hearts of their children. But this chord is often forgotten in the constant clanging of the latest Dr Phils telling you what "behaviour" is appropriate or not. The rather unthinking parents fall for this unfortunate trap and thus make their children live in small invisible boxes, left to emotionally and psycologically suffocate.
Allow Mr Gurian to reveal powerfully to you what you already know about your child in the deepest recesses of your mind and heart.
How awesome that Mr Gurian is here

As the expecting parents of a baby boy, my wife and I have made it our happy mission to become as fully informed as possible in the science of child care to give our little one all the advantages for a happy, healthy and productive childhood. We also bought him a printing calculator, green eyeshades, some blank ledgers, a bunch of no. 2 pencils, and a complete copy of the latest U.S. tax code because we knew he would grow up to be a great accountant, if not the greatest.

"Nurture the Nature: Understanding and Supporting Your Child's Unique Core Personality" opened our eyes at how media portrayals of flashy and successful accountants were biasing how we viewed our unborn child. Rather than accepting him for who he will be, we were unfairly forcing our own dreams upon him, setting him up for possible frustration and failure.

Michael Gurian, one of the founders of the Gurian Institute, "a training organization focused on providing schools, homes, workplaces, and community agencies with crucial understanding of how boys and girls learn and grow," brings his years of experience and the latest scientific findings to "Nurture the Nature", offering practical advice based on research and observation. Warning against current societal trends which overburden children with activity overload (I guess we'll be canceling the baby swim, yoga, reading and equestrian classes... OK, maybe just the equestrian class) and "material anxiety" coming from trying to keep up with the latest gadgets and toys, Gurian offers practical solutions, many from other parents, such as letting the child himself guide his activities and having him give away a toy every time he receives a new one.

Gurian tackles issues most parents will eventually face, including gender differences, media consumption and teen independence, with an understanding of both the child's and parent's needs, finding a reasonable balance that sometimes does not necessarily conform to societal expectations but often leads to greater success for the child.

I am thankful my wife and I came across this book when we did, and we now understand that a child is an individual with a unique personality and not simply a bearer of our name and an extension of our own success. Still, a parent can dream of having another CPA in the family, but we will let our child find his own future, even if it's a non-accounting one.

I feel this book has greatly helped me understand my child better and I expect to be a better parent over the years because of it. Frankly I think I already see a difference.

This book was a recommendation from a magazine I was reading but honestly I couldn't get through past the first chapter... it didn't catch my interest. Sorry to say I have purchased the book but not willing to give it a second try.

Another great book from Michael Gurian. Its is a valuable book in addition to Gurian's other books on single-gender education issues.