The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance - Softcover

Young-Eisendrath PhD, Polly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316013129 ISBN 13: 9780316013123

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark, 2009

Synopsis

Kids today are depressed and anxious. They also feel entitled to every advantage and unwilling to make the leap into adulthood. As Polly Young-Eisendrath makes clear in this brilliant account of where a generation has gone astray, parents trying to make their children feel special are unwittingly interfering with their kids' ability to accept themselves and cope with life. Clarifying an enormous cultural change, THE SELFESTEEM TRAP shows why so many young people have trouble with empathy and compassion, struggle with moral values, and are stymied in the face of adversity. Young-Eisendrath off ers prescriptive advice on how adults can help kids-through the teen and young adult years-develop self-worth, setting them on the right track to productive, balanced, and happy lives.

About this title

About the Author:

Polly Young-Eisendrath, a Jungian analyst and psychotherapist, is the author of 13 books (translated into 20 languages), including The Resilient Spirit and Women and Desire. She lives in Burlington, VT.

From Publishers Weekly:

Young-Eisendrath, a Vermont-based Jungian analyst, practicing Buddhist and author (Women and Desire), identifies a threatening and perplexing problem she calls the self-esteem trap. Today's children and young adults are suffering from a number of symptoms, including obsessive self-focus, restless dissatisfaction, pressures to be exceptional, unreadiness to accept responsibilities and feelings of either superiority or inferiority. According to the author, instead of contentment and positive self-regard, kids raised to believe they are extraordinary or special are more likely to be unhappy and disappointed. Being ordinary and realizing one's connection to the human community is the real key to happiness, she argues, and cultivating the qualities of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration and wisdom will lead to children who are self-confident and content. She also warns against parents who run interference, protecting their children from inevitable disappointments. Instead, letting kids develop autonomy and experience the consequences of their decisions, she claims, is the way to go. At times, Young-Eisendrath's scope seems unwieldy, but her message rings true. (Sept.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0316013129
• ISBN 13: 9780316013123
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256