happychild’s Review

by Yvette Vignando: I first heard Martin Seligman speak in 2000 in San Francisco at the first international conference on Emotional Intelligence.

It was early days in the Positive Psychology movement and Seligman addressed the conference on how important it would be for children and adults to learn the skills of emotional intelligence, but particularly because some of those skills had the potential to ‘immunise’ us against future psychological illnesses.

Since then, Seligman has been prolific, writing about positive psychology and in particular about Optimism. This book is, in my opinion, an essential read for parents who want to better understand how to boost their child’s optimistic outlook on life. It is not about self esteem but about teaching children to view and understand the world and events in a way that is psychologically healthy and may safeguard them from depression or build their personal resilience.

Included in the book is a test to measure your child’s optimism, examples of how to change your child’s explanatory style and information about boosting your child’s social skills.