Self-esteem, a family affair

By Jean Illsley Clarke

Book Overview

Strong self-esteem is a critical ingredient for human happiness--and its development begins at home in the nurturing interactions between children and adults. Clarke's unique approach to building self-esteem begins with her belief that this is indeed a "family affair." Rather than offering collection of dictatorial "should," "Self-Esteem: A Family Affair" instead serves as a source of parental support, providing a broad range of imaginative and effective suggestions for dealing with individual family members in ways that nourish self-esteem for all involved.Throughout her book, Clarke encourages parents to claim their strengths and to trust their judgment as they make decisions about appropriate child care. Recognizing, too, that kids' needs are best met by adults whose own needs have not been neglected, Clarke offers a range of creative and workable options for parents to build the self-esteem of children while also caring for their emotional needs.Jean Illsley Clarke, author of Hazelden's "Growing Up Again: Parenting Ourselves, Parenting Our Children, " is a writer and an internationally recognized parent educator who specializes in the areas of parenting, self-esteem, family dynamics, and adult children of alcoholics. She currently directs the Self-Esteem Center, which she founded in 1975, and lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0030439167
• ISBN13: 9780030439162
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Winston Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Parent Must Read

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!

From the perspective of a social worker

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.

A must read for parents

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.

Life-Changing Resource for Parents

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.

Important practical advice with examples

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.