The Secure Child: Helping Children Feel Safe and Confident in a Changing World - Hardcover

Greenspan, Stanley; Greenspan, Stanley I.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738207500 ISBN 13: 9780738207506

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2002

Synopsis

In the wake of the events of September 11th, families have drawn closer together, recognizing the comfort that can be drawn from those we treasure most. But how do we help children feel secure longterm? And how can we recognize the signs of distress or anxiety in their behavior that tell us that they need our help?In The Secure Child, Dr. Stanley Greenspan offers a set of guiding principles that will help parents of children at each age--from preschoolers to teenagers --both reassure and guide them so that they feel secure in their homes, their schools, and in their community at large. In addition. Greenspan illuminates the often subtle shifts in children's behavior that signal reaction to the current stress and fears and gives parents concrete suggestions to help children handle their anxieties and look to the future with confidence and optimism. From showing parents how to allow children to talk about their feelings to giving them concrete ways to contribute to national healing efforts, this profoundly wise book will help families everywhere move towards the common goal of a more stable and secure future.

About this title

Review

When faced with circumstances utterly beyond our control, it's hard enough for adults to remain grounded; children can have an even more difficult time of it when their parents are feeling this way. The Secure Child doesn't promise to make everything all right, but it does provide some basic guidelines that can help pull families in crisis more tightly together.

The first chapter introduces four basic principals: spending time together, expressing feelings, reassurance, and helping others. Whether your child is 2 or 17, these fundamentals vary only in the presentation, and specific details are addressed to each age group in later chapters. Author Stanley Greenspan discusses the characteristics that secure children show, and how those traits are expressed at every age. Also incorporated are simple ways--through play, daily chats, and volunteer activities--that allow parents to easily interact with their kids to relieve tension and supply real nurturing. Elementary parenting techniques are used, with reminders about choosing your battles, maintaining empathy, and setting limits attached to age-appropriate actions.

Helping someone else feel secure when you're afraid can be extremely challenging, but this short, simple guidebook will help your whole family rest a little easier. --Jill Lightner

About the Author

Stanley I. Greenspan, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School is the author of many influential works including The Four-Thirds Solution, The Irreducible Needs of Children (with T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.,) The Growth of the Mind, and The Child with Special Needs with Serena Wieder, Ph.D. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Edition details

• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0738207500
• ISBN 13: 9780738207506
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160