The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World

by Katie Hurley LCSW

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Author: Katie Hurley LCSW

Publisher: TarcherPerigee

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 9780399171819
ISBN 13: 978-0399171819

With all the parenting information out there and the constant pressure to be the “perfect” parent, it seems as if many parents have lost track of one very important piece of the parenting puzzle: raising happy kids.

Parenting today has gotten far too complicated. It’s never been the easiest job in the world, but with all the “parenting advice” parents are met with at every corner, it’s hard not to become bewildered. It seems that in the past it was a good deal simpler. You made sure there was dinner on the table and the kids got to school on time and no one set anything on fire, and you called it a success. But today everybody has a different method for dealing with the madness--attachment parenting, free-range parenting, mindful parenting. And who is to say one is more right or better than another? How do you choose?

The truth is that whatever drumbeat you march to, all parents would agree that we just want our kids to be happy. It seems like a no-brainer, right? But in the face of all the many parenting theories out there, happiness feels like it has become incidental. That’s where The Happy Kid Handbook by child and adolescent psychotherapist and parenting expert Katie Hurley comes in. She shows parents how happiness is the key to raising confident, capable children. It’s not about giving in every time your child wants something so they won’t feel bad when you say no, or making sure that they’re taking that art class, and the ballet class, and the soccer class (to help with their creativity and their coordination and all that excess energy). Happiness is about parenting the individual, because not every child is the same, and not every child will respond to parenting the same way. By exploring the differences among introverts, extroverts, and everything in between, this definitive guide to parenting offers parents the specific strategies they need to meet their child exactly where he or she needs to be met from a social-emotional perspective. A back-to-basics guide to parenting, The Happy Kid Handbook is a must-have for any parent hoping to be the best parent they can be.

Review

“This practical and highly workable handbook details a broad selection of delightfully creative strategies for helping kids learn from play, manage strong emotions constructively, learn to forgive and empathize, build assertiveness, and accept difference in themselves and others. . . . Highly recommended for people who seek a parenting orientation rather than a method but still want a substantial toolbox of specific activities to use in understanding and connecting with their children.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A clear and thoughtful approach to parenting your individual child. In a world full of stresses on parents and children, what a relief to read about parenting strategies that focus on my unique child, and on raising an empathetic, happy, and confident person. I would highly recommend this book for all the individual parents and their one-of-a-kind kids!”
—Idina Menzel, Tony Award-winning actress and singer

“The Happy Kid Handbook is a must-read for parents who want joyful households without all the stress of ‘perfect’ parenting."
—Soleil Moon Frye, author of Happy Chaos and Let’s Get This Party Started

“Any mother of big kids will tell you that the exhausting days of infancy were a breeze! I love Katie's real-life approach to surviving our children's childhood, and being the best parents we can for them. Here's to happy kids. . . and sane parents!”
—Jill Smokler, New York Times-bestselling author of Confessions of a Scary Mommy

"We’ve all heard the popular saying, 'To know you is to love you,' but these words have never come to life quite the way they do in The Happy Kid Handbook. Katie Hurley has a profound understanding of how to tap into children’s individual strengths, personality traits, and interests to better connect, communicate, and empower them. Katie shows parents how to guide their children to their fullest potential without sacrificing their inner peace and inherent joy."
—Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times-bestselling author of Hands Free Mama

"In a fun-to-read, conversational style, Katie Hurley brings her experience as a child psychotherapist and parent to bear in helping parents think clearly and calmly about their relationship with their child. The focus is right where it should be—on happiness. Children differ greatly from one to another; the parent's task is to get to know the child and help the child be happy as the person that he or she is."
—Peter Gray, Research Professor of Psychology at Boston College and author of Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life

“Compassionate, smart, and practical advice for raising your unique child. Big ideas—backed by clinical wisdom and research—and step-by-step guidance on how to apply them.”
—Heather Turgeon, co-author of The Happy Sleeper

"With an emphasis on taking back childhood and reducing stress for the whole family, The Happy Kid Handbook helps parents empower their kids to take control of their own happiness. Katie provides parents with easy, actionable steps to help them understand what makes their kids tick and how to help them carve their own paths and cope with obstacles along the way."
—Amy McCready, Founder of Positive Parenting Solutions and author of The “Me, Me, Me” Epidemic: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Capable, Grateful Kids in an Over-Entitled World

“Looking at parenting from the child’s point-of-view changes the game and helps parents to become learning partners with their children rather than engineers of their future. Katie Hurley is a professional who knows and understands children, parents, families. . . and generally what it means to be human.”
—Rick Ackerly, author of The Genius In Every Child: Encouraging Character, Curiosity and Creativity in Children

About the Author

Katie Hurley, LCSW, is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting expert, and writer. Katie earned her BA in psychology in and women’s studies from Boston College and her MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Katie has extensive training in Play Therapy. She worked for The Help Group, a large non-profit in Los Angeles, for seven years as a school-based therapist and a clinical director. Katie also launched her private practice, co-facilitated social skills groups, and taught parenting classes during that time. She currently practices psychotherapy in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and is a freelance writer for many online parenting publications. Her work can be found on EverydayFamily, Momtastic, mom.me, Yahoo Parenting and The Huffington Post. Katie writes for the parenting blog Practical Parenting. She splits her time between Los Angeles and the Connecticut coast with her rock and roll husband and their two happy children.

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The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World