The Optimistic Child
by Martin E. P. Seligman
Seligman's program for teaching children the thinking skills that prevent depression: the ABC model, disputing catastrophic thoughts, decatastrophizing and the Penn Prevention Program, which halved depression rates in trials. It is research-based and includes scripts and exercises for parents. The argument against the self-esteem movement is pointed.
Read it if…
you want to immunize your child against pessimism with methods that were tested.
Skip it if…
your child is very young; the program is for school age and up.
Three things you will actually use
- Optimism is explanatory style; it can be taught.
- Mastery, not praise, builds real self-esteem.
- Dispute automatic thoughts as a game.
Do this first
When your child catastrophizes, ask for the worst case, the best case and the most likely case.
Our verdict
Research-based and practical.
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