Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
Intelligence That Comes from the Heart

Every parent knows the importance of equipping children with the intellectual skills they need to succeed in school and life. But children also need to master their emotions. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a guide to teaching children to understand and regulate their emotional world. And as acclaimed psychologist and researcher John Gottman shows, once they master this important life skill, emotionally intelligent children will enjoy increased self-confidence, greater physical health, better performance in school, and healthier social relationships. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will equip parents with a five-step "emotion coaching" process that teaches how to:

* Be aware of a child's emotions

* Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching

* Listen empathetically and validate a child's feelings

* Label emotions in words a child can understand

* Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation

Customer Reviews

What a gift of a book to parents and to children fortunate enough to have those parents. I've found a terrifically insightful

2008-09-12
memoir written by a brilliant woman trained in child psychiatry, whose path was influenced by a need to heal the damages of her own childhood. That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. owes its title to a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is remarkably candid, fascinating, and wonderfully well-written. It's a great read. The writing just flows.

Great

2008-09-01
Great book. A must read for every parent. One of the best parenting books out there.

Expert Gottman

2008-08-25
This book was a purchase as a gift to my daughter who brought our first grandchild into the world not long ago. I know about John Gottman and his reputation as an excellent researcher on emotions and how they play out in body language and other ways people communicate with one another. I am also very familiar with the research on Emotional Intelligence developed by Perter Salovey at Yale and popularized by Daniel Goleman. This book integrates all of those sources of profoundly important social science into an amalgam that will surely help parents guide their children toward becoming well balanced and confident. This is not a bunch of pop psychology. It is impotant information from a man who knows whereof he speaks.

A Book for Every Parent

2008-07-14
John Gottman is a professor of psychology at the University of Washington, a Rabbi, author of the excellent book, "The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work," and also an entertaining speaker. My wife and I attended one of his talks on successful marriages. He's the Jerry Seinfeld of the clinical psychologist-Rabbi set.

Against that backdrop, it wasn't difficult for my wife to get me to read "Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child" after we had our second kid, although I wondered what misdeed on my part prompted the purchase.

As with Seven Principles, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child is a tad heavy on discussions of research methodology, obviously intended to enhance the credibility of Gottman's conclusions. And some of Gottman's advice is a bit much for any but the most obsessive-compulsive. As an example, I don't think I'll be keeping an "emotion log" anytime soon in order to better understand my feelings "from moment to moment."

Such quirks aside, I recommend this book to every parent. It's short and easy to read, and most readers probably come away wishing their parents had read it. Gottman provides compelling insights and guidance for parents on how to help children identify, understand and work with all kinds of emotions ("emotion coaching"). Concepts are supported by examples of good and bad parental attitudes and/or parent-child interactions. These real-life examples colorfully reinforce Gottman's basic theories and demonstrate the advice in action.

Half way through the book, I found myself already trying to apply its principles in dealing with emotional outbreaks from our young children. They responded well. Gottman presents compelling evidence that parents can play an important role in the emotional well-being and happiness of their children and he argues persuasively that parents who succeed in doing so likely form stronger bonds with their children. That's a lot more value than one usually expects from a $13, 200-page paperback.

Timeless advice

2008-06-01
This book was published 10 years ago, but the advice is still as timely as ever. Very well written, with just the right blend of research, stories, and recommendations. This book should improve the life of anyone who reads it. When John Gottman talks, people listen!

A great resource for parents!

2008-05-09
Intelligence That Comes from the Heart

* Be aware of a child's emotions

* Recognize emotional expression as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching

* Listen empathetically and validate a child's feelings

* Label emotions in words a child can understand

* Help a child come up with an appropriate way to solve a problem or deal with an upsetting issue or situation

Written for parents of children of all ages, Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child will enrich the bonds between parent and child and contribute immeasurably to the development of a generation of emotionally healthy adults.

A must read for all parents 2008-05-06
This is a must read book for all parents. It has already changed the relationship with my daughter to the positive side, she has become less agressive. The book is based on a research.

What a help! 2008-03-06
I found this book to be very helpful to me emotionally and to my parenting skills. I am also a substitute teacher and use these methods in the classrooms I teach in. I'm so impressed with this author, I'm ordering his book on marriage.

raising an emotionally intelligent child 2008-01-07
This is the best child development book I have ever read! It was incredibly helpful and an answer to a prayer. I have encouraged everyone I know to read it and I quote it every day. Thank you!

Needed for every family, especially new parents. 2007-09-26
My sister and brother in law just had a baby and I was reading this for a class... everything that I've learned from this book has been applied to my new nephew and 2 year old niece and it's changed the dynamics of the family by a 10 fold!