Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 A happy life is one that is full of different types of positive emotions. Positive emotions about the past, such as gratitude, forgiveness, and appreciation, are important components of a happy life. #2 Positive psychology is the study of how people and society can be happier, and it has drawn on scientific research to develop strategies for raising happy children. It is based on the idea that we can get something negative back to neutral, and that parents and children can be happier no matter where they start from. #3 Raising Happiness is about setting your children up to thrive. The well-being of children is more important to adults than anything else, and we have reason to be concerned about the well-being of teenagers. But happiness is a skill that can be taught to children. #4 Emotional literacy is the ability to regulate and understand emotions. It is the most important skill for growing into a happy and successful adult. Children who can regulate their emotions are better at soothing themselves when they are upset, which means they experience negative emotions for a shorter period of time.

What do we wish most for our children? Next to being healthy, we want them to be happy, of course! Fortunately, a wide array of scientific studies show that happiness is a learned behavior, a muscle we can help our children build and maintain. Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom to demonstrate do’s and don’ts in action, Christine Carter, Ph.D, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, boils the process down to 10 simple happiness-inducing steps. With great wit, wisdom, and compassion, Carter covers the day-to-day pressure points of parenting—how best to discipline, get kids to school and activities on time, and get dinner on the table—as well as the more elusive issues of helping children build healthy friendships and develop emotional intelligence. In these 10 key steps, she helps you interact confidently and consistently with your kids to foster the skills, habits, and mindsets that will set the stage for positive emotions now and into their adolescence and beyond. Inside you will discover • the best way avoid raising a brat—changing bad habits into good ones • tips on how to change your kids’ attitude into gratitude • the trap of trying to be perfect—and how to stay clear of its pitfalls • the right way to praise kids—and why too much of the wrong kind can be just as bad as not enough • the spirit of kindness—how to raise kind, compassionate, and loving children • strategies for inspiring kids to do boring (but necessary) tasks—and become more self-motivated in the process Complete with a series of “try this” tips, secrets, and strategies, Raising Happiness is a one-of-a-kind resource that will help you instill joy in your kids—and, in the process, become more joyful yourself.

Parents of teenagers need a new playbook—one that addresses the new challenges they face today. Teens are growing up in an entirely new world, and this has huge implications for our parenting. Understandably, many parents are baffled by problems that didn't exist less than a decade ago, like social media and video game obsession, sexting, and vaping. The New Adolescence is a realistic and reassuring handbook for parents. It offers road-tested, science-based solutions for raising happy, healthy, and successful teenagers. Inside, you'll find practical guidance for: • Providing the support and structure teens need (while still giving them the autonomy they seek) • Influencing and motivating teenagers • Helping kids overcome distractions that hinder their learning • Protecting them from anxiety, isolation, and depression • Fostering the real-world, face-to-face social connections they desperately need • Having effective conversations about tough subjects--including sex, drugs, and money A highly acclaimed sociologist and coach at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and the author of Raising Happiness, Dr. Christine Carter melds research—including the latest findings in neuroscience, sociology, and social psychology—with her own (often hilarious) real-world experiences as the mother of four teenagers.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The central tenet of adolescence is a drive for autonomy, which can be hard for parents to deal with. However, parenting teenagers is much easier than parenting little kids, as they can put on their own shoes and make their own lunches. #2 When we are happy, we are less likely to get pulled into teenage moodiness, and when they are stressed or in crisis, we are more likely to be helpful to them. #3 Self-care is not selfish. It is the opposite of that. It is the act of taking time for yourself, to relax, and to improve your relationships with others. It is not the time to become more anxious and distant from your kids. #4 We need to take care of ourselves more than ever when our kids are teenagers because they can sniff out hypocrisy a mile away. Teens can develop a good nose for social injustice, and they will not be impressed by anything that smells of unfairness or pretense.

While resilience is innate in the brain, our capacity for it can be impaired by our conditioning. Unhelpful patterns of response are learned over time and can become fixed in our neural circuitry. What neuroscience now shows is that what previously seemed hardwired can be rewired.

An encouraging guide to helping parents find more happiness in their day-to-day family life, from the former lead editor of the New York Times' Motherlode blog. In all the writing and reporting KJ Dell'Antonia has done on families over the years, one topic keeps coming up again and again: parents crave a greater sense of happiness in their daily lives. In this optimistic, solution-packed book, KJ asks: How can we change our family life so that it is full of the joy we'd always hoped for? Drawing from the latest research and interviews with families, KJ discovers that it's possible to do more by doing less, and make our family life a refuge and pleasure, rather than another stress point in a hectic day. She focuses on nine common problem spots that cause parents the most grief, explores why they are hard, and offers small, doable, sometimes surprising steps you can take to make them better. Whether it's getting everyone out the door on time in the morning or making sure chores and homework get done without another battle, How to Be a Happier Parent shows that having a family isn't just about raising great kids and churning them out at destination: success. It's about experiencing joy--real joy, the kind you look back on, look forward to, and live for--along the way.

An intimate and revealing examination of today's motherhood overload crisis Winner of a Foreword IndieFab Book of the Year Award Katrina Alcorn was a 37-year-old mother with a happy marriage and a thriving career when one day, on the way to Target to buy diapers, she had a breakdown. Her carefully built career shuddered to a halt, and her journey through depression, anxiety, and insomnia -- followed by medication, meditation, and therapy -- began. Alcorn wondered how a woman like herself, with a loving husband, a supportive boss, three healthy kids, and a good income, was unable to manage the demands of having a career and a family. Over time, she realized that she wasn't alone; many women were struggling to do it all -- and feeling as if they were somehow failing as a result. Mothers are the breadwinners in two-thirds of American families, yet the American workplace is uniquely hostile to the needs of parents. Weaving in surprising research about the dysfunction between the careers and home lives of working mothers, as well as the consequences to women's health, Alcorn tells a deeply personal story about "having it all" failing miserably, and what comes after. Ultimately, she offers readers a vision for a healthier, happier, and more productive way to live and work.