Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child [Paperback]

James Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 23, 2003

ow available in paperback, Positive Pushing gives parents clear and balanced instruction on how to encourage children just enough to produce a happy, successful, satisfied achiever. Taylor, an experienced achievement consultant, believes that, pushed properly, children will grow into adults ready to tackle life's many challenges. Using his three-pillared approach, Taylor focuses on self-esteem, ownership, and emotional mastery, and maintains that pushing, rather than being a means of control, is both a source of motivation and a catalyst for growth that can instill important values in children's lives. He teaches parents how to temper their own expectations to suit their children's emotional, intellectual, and physical development, and identifies common red flags that indicate when a child is being pushed too hard-or not enough. Whether a child's potential for achievement lies in academics, the arts, sports, or other areas, Dr. Taylor's insight and guidance will push parents, teachers, and coaches to nurture children into successful and happy adults.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pushy parents have gotten a bad rap, says psychologist and achievement coach Jim Taylor. In Positive Pushing, Taylor contrasts the old-style pushing of parents overinvested in their kid's report cards and soccer scores with the positive pushing of parents who invite children to gain joy from and mastery in their accomplishments. "Success without happiness is not success at all," he explains.

In building a model of successful achievers, Taylor skewers the self-esteem movement for protecting kids from disappointment and mistakes--the very experiences that build sturdy self-regard. He urges parents to separate their needs from their children's. His marching orders are clear and compelling: guide kids to discover a passion; express love apart from achievement; create a human being, not a "human doing"; use boundaries to construct a safe harbor; and demand accountability. Most important, put kids in charge by teaching them that the results they produce depend on their efforts and actions. Taylor describes red-flag warnings to keep parents on course and offers smart questions for helping kids command their achievements, asking, for example, "Why do you want to do this?" and "What would make this a really great experience for you?"

At times, Taylor's unique approach is undercut by a tendency to quote other sources. Still, his own fresh and insightful words will inspire every parent who reads this book. --Barbara Mackoff --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Taylor, a psychologist who has worked with young achievers in sports, education and the performing arts for 17 years, helps parents determine how to give their child encouragement and the emotional resources not only to succeed but to deal with success in a healthy way. Arguing that pushing is necessary for children to take risks and discover their strengths, he advises parents how to push while focusing on self-esteem, ownership and emotional mastery what he calls the three pillars of successful achievers. Taylor stresses the importance of parental involvement, but warns that many parents go overboard, getting too involved in their child's achievements and denying the child "ownership" of their own experiences. Instead, Taylor suggests parents help their child focus on the process rather than a winning outcome, and keep a balance in their life. To wit, he provides useful guidelines for how much time should be spent on achievement activities, and recommends not more than two such activities per child to ensure that they don't infringe on playtime and family time. In each chapter, he lists "red flags" warning signs in children's behavior that indicate parents are pushing too much or too little. Taylor's thoughtful, clear-eyed approach to a controversial subject will be appreciated by parents raising kids in a competitive world.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (April 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786888504
• ISBN-13: 978-0786888504
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Jim Taylor is internationally recognized for his work in the psychology of performance in business, sport, and parenting.

Dr. Taylor has been a consultant to and has provided individual and group training to executives and businesses throughout the North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He is a frequent speaker at Young Presidents' Organization events internationally and a featured speaker for Natixis Global Associates, the 14th largest asset management company in the world.

Dr. Taylor has been a consultant for the United States and Japanese Ski Teams, the United States Tennis Association, and USA Triathlon, and has worked with professional and world-class athletes in tennis, skiing, cycling, triathlon, track and field, swimming, football, golf, baseball, and many other sports. He has been invited to lecture by the Olympic Committees of Spain, France, Poland, and the U.S., and has consulted with the Athletic Departments at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Taylor speaks regularly to elementary and secondary schools, parent and education associations, youth-sports programs, and performing-arts organizations around the country.

Dr. Taylor has consulted with health and medical facilities around the U.S. including the Mayo Clinic, the Stone Clinic in San Francisco, The Aspen Fitness and Sports Medicine Institute, the San Francisco Bay Club, Bay Club Marin, and the J.P. Parisien Human Performance Laboratory.

He has worked with the Miami City Ballet, the Hartford Ballet Company, and the DanceAspen Summer School, and performing artists in many disciplines.

Dr. Taylor received his Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and earned his Master's degree and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Colorado. He is a former Associate Professor in the School of Psychology at Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale and a former clinical associate professor in the Sport & Performance Psychology graduate program at the University of Denver. He is currently an adjunct faculty at the University of San Francisco and the Wright Institute in Berkeley.

Dr. Taylor's professional areas of interest include corporate performance, child development and parenting, sport psychology, coaches education, injury rehabilitation, popular culture, public education reform, and the psychology of technology.

A former alpine ski racer who competed internationally, Dr. Taylor is also a 2nd degree black belt and certified instructor in karate, a marathon runner, and an Ironman triathlete.

He has published more than 700 articles in scholarly and popular publications, and has given more than 800 workshops and presentations throughout North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Dr. Taylor is the author or lead editor of 14 books including Your Children are Listening: Nine Messages They Need to Hear From You (The Experiment Publishing, 2011), Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child (Hyperion, 2003),Your Children are Under Attack: How Popular Culture is Destroying Your Kids' Values, and How You Can Protect Them (SourceBooks, 2005), The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training (VeloPress, 2005), Prime Sport: Triumph of the Athlete's Mind (iUniverse, 2002), andApplying Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives (lead editor, Human Kinetics, 2005). Dr. Taylor's next parenting book, Raising Generation Tech:  Prepare Your Children for a Media-fueled World (Sourcebooks), will be published in the Spring of 2012. Another book, Prime Dance: The Psychology of Artistry and Excellence (Human Kinetics) will be published in the Spring of 2013.

Dr. Taylor blogs on business, sports, parenting, technology, education, politics, and popular culture on this web site, as well as on psychologytoday.com, sfgate.com (San Francisco Chronicle's web site), huffingtonpost.com, seattlepi.com, and the Hearst Interactive Media Connecticut Group web sites. His posts are aggregated by dozens of web sites worldwide and have been read by millions of people.

Dr. Taylor has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, UPN's Life & Style, ABC's World News This Weekend, and the major television network affiliates around the U.S.. He has participated in many radio shows. His research and writings have as been the subject of syndicated columns that have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country. Jim has been a columnist for The Denver Post , and has been interviewed for articles that have appeared in The New York Daily News, The Los Angeles Times, The London Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, The London Telegraph, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun, The Denver Post, Skiing, Outside, and many other newspapers and magazines.

Dr. Taylor is a former member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Education Fund, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to help underprivileged students achieve academic success.

Dr. Taylor lives north of San Francisco with his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Catie and Gracie.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Parenting Since Dr. Spock! May 21, 2002

By Warren Witherell

Format:Hardcover

This is an astoundingly good book. There is more common sense and sound advice between its covers than I have seen in 40 years of reading on child psychology and parenting strategies. (I am a retired school Headmaster, teacher, and coach of world-class athletes). Positive Pushing has special relevance to parents of 'high achievers', but it is equally valuable for all parents who simply want to help their children be the best they can be. Dr. Taylor focuses on developing value systems, a strong work ethic, self-confidence, ownership, responsibility, self-respect, etc. But this is no 'feel good book.' Dr. Taylor insists that kids must DO POSITIVE THINGS in order to feel good about themselves and to become constructive and successful adults. There is no 'psycho babble' in this book. It is all plain English and common sense. Parents are coached on how to teach their kids that one of the true joys in life is experiencing the process of achieving. Here are some quotes that should whet a reader's appetite: 'A funny thing happens when you raise the bar. People find a way to get over it, once they realize it is expected. Human beings can do amazing things -- if they're asked to.' 'Positive pushing emphasizes creating options for children from which they can choose a direction, and stressing that doing nothing is not an option.' 'You need to strike a balance between giving your child the first push toward achievement in terms of direction, opportunities and resources, and then stepping back and enabling her to to find her own personal connection with the activity. Your involvement must shift from direction and guidance to encouragement and freedom.' This is good stuff. Dr. Taylor draws on many years of experience working with athletes and parents from little league moms to olympic team members -- and also dancers, artists and musicians. The author does a good job of integrating basic principles with real-life examples. I think this book should be read by children age 13 or older as well as by their parents. I have encouraged Headmaster friends to make POSITIVE PUSHING required summer reading for all of their teachers and coaches, and to strongly urge all of their parents to read it as well. In short, this is MUST READING for anyone who is interested in raising successful and happy children. Learn more about his book at its web site.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Trying too hard April 23, 2006

By RomReader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Jim Taylor is pushing too hard in trying to resolve various parenting and parenting/adult issues in one book. He probable knows a lot about achievement but he couldn't convince me about how positive pushing/control can be with kids--he starts with a promising argument but feters out in his style of discussion. He cites good research but his own ideas/interpretations are unoriginal and unconvincing. He is also inconsistent in his opinions (i.e., unconditional love does not exist then in next sentence he says that parents are to love their kids without condition). He also talks about achieving "balance" without real-life solutions. He does have lists of behavioral solutions in the end of the chapters but they seem disjointed and almost exhaustive, making me feel more like my kids and I would be more exhausted than "balanced". The tone of his book was bland and too distancing--I found myself skimming his chapter intros. He sounds more like a motivational speaker or academician than an experienced parent (he cites kids/families he's worked with but no personal stories about his own family). For a more "balanced" approach in parenting and easier read, I recommend Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Taylor gets it re: raising successful children. July 9, 2003

By Rocco B. Rubino

Format:Paperback

I read a fair amount of parenting books and, sad to say, many of them are little more than either "psycho-babble" or books on how to manipulate your child.

Positive Pushing is a wonderfully balanced look at this little discussed aspect of childhood; raising your children to be successful.

Dr. Taylor does a very thorough job of defining what true success is. He also does a very thorough job of delineating what the parental responsibilities are. I love the way he makes clear (throughout the book)how the parents themselves need to engage in defining their own values as well as resolving their own issues. This "parenting from the inside out" approach ensures that the parent does not work out his/her unresolved parental issues through their child, which, sadly, describes many, many parents. One of the main themes that underpines his work is "what is in the best interests of the child." If we, as a society, had our child(ren)'s best interest in the forefront of our thinking, how different our world would look!

Parents would do well to read this book together, especially as their children approach school age. Yet, this book can be read and appreciated by parents who have children in the later grades.

Caution: This is not a book one can just breeze through and "get." Dr. Taylor has buttressed his contention that children need to be positively pushed with a plethora of research, some longitudinal. He's done is homework, obviously, and the net result is this masterpiece that is destined to be an all-time classic in parenting literature.

A book I will continue to consult, both as a parent and as a (one day) counselor. As solid a book as you will ever read on child rearing.