What Kids Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways to Raise Good Kids

Researchers at Minneapolis-based Search Institute have identified 40 Developmental Assets that all kids need in their lives—good things like family support, a caring neighborhood, and resistance skills. Communities across the nation have embraced the book’s quick-read, commonsense suggestions for helping kids lead healthy, productive, positive lives and stay out of trouble. This revised and updated third edition draws on findings from a 2010 survey of about 90,000 kids (grades 6–12) from communities across the United States. The new data confirms the power of Developmental Assets in young people’s lives, reflecting updated levels of assets young people experience as well as the power that assets have to prevent high-risk behaviors and increase thriving behaviors.

Peter L. Benson, Ph.D., has been president of Search Institute since 1985. He received his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Denver and his M.A. in psychology from Yale. He is the author of several publications including All Kids Are Our Kids: What Communities Must Do to Raise Caring and Responsible Children and Adolescents. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Judy Galbraith, M.A., has a master’s degree in guidance and counseling of the gifted. She has worked with and taught gifted children and teens, their parents, and their teachers for over 20 years. In 1983, she started Free Spirit Publishing, which specializes in Self-Help for Kids® and Self-Help for Teens® books and other learning materials. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.