Few, if any, parents ever said “I want my child not to succeed,” but author Jessica Lahey thinks parents these days are too afraid to let their kids fail at even smallest of tasks. But they may be getting the message.
Lahey’s latest book The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed is a New York Times national best-seller with its premise that we help our kids develop more resourcefulness, skills and confidence by not constantly running to their rescue and protecting them from adversity and consequences.
“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 children’s failures. Hard-hitting yet warm and wise, The Gift of Failure is essential reading for parents, educators, and psychologists nationwide who want to help children succeed,” writes the Times in its review.
Lahey is a teacher, writer and mother. Over 20 years, she’s taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools. She writes about education, parenting and child welfare for The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post and the New York Times. She is a member of the Amazon Studios Thought Leader Board and wrote the educational curriculum for Amazon Kids’ The Stinky and Dirty Show. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two sons
Lahey discusses her book on the latest episode of The Modern Dads Podcast, which also features The Parents’ Phrase Book author and Los Angeles Dads Group member Whit Honea talking about good and bad value of homework.
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