Raising Children Who Think for Themselves - by Elisa Medhus M D (Paperback)

About the Book

With a special section on 100 childrearing problems and solutions, this book is a thoughtful guide that combines the practical with the spiritual to help make growing up less painful. Winner of the the 2002 Parent's Choice Award, the NAPPA Gold Award (National Parenting Publications Association, ) and the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. 10 illustrations.

Book Synopsis

Raising Children Who Think for Themselves offers a new approach to parenting that has the power to reverse the trend of external direction in our children and help parents bring up empathetic, self-confident, moral, independent thinkers. Children who are externally directed make decisions based on the peer groups, violent movies, sexually explicit television shows, and rap lyrics that permeate their lives. When children are self-directed, on the other hand, they use their power of reason like a sword to cut through the jungle of external influences. Fortunately, the author shows us, it is never too late to foster in our children the ability to weigh options, consider sources, and think for themselves.

Filled with real-life examples, humorous anecdotes, and countless interviews with parents, children, and teachers, Raising Children Who Think for Themselves

• Identifies the five essential qualities of self-directed children
• Outlines the seven strategies necessary for parents to develop these qualities in their children
• Addresses nearly one hundred child-raising challenges--from body piercing to whining wars--and offers solutions to help encourage self-direction

Review Quotes

"Raising Children Who Think for Themselves provides plenty of sensible, down-to-earth advice for parents. A goldmine of suggestions and guidance."
--Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, author of 1-2-3 Magic

"Rich stories and examples from her own parenting experiences and those of her patients make Medhus's book a comprehensive guide for teaching our children to become honest, intuitive, and independent thinkers, using not only their heads but their hearts."
--Jeanne Elium, coauthor of Raisin a Son and Raising a Daughter

About the Author

Elisa Medhus, MD, is a physician and mother of five who has practiced internal medicine for more than thirty years. She is the author of three award-winning parenting books, including Raising Children Who Think for Themselves and Hearing Is Believing, and has lectured on parenting for schools, parent groups, and corporations. After the death of her twenty-year-old son Erik, Dr. Medhus began journaling her grief in her blog ChannelingErik.com and wrote the successful book My Son and the Afterlife, helping her son in telling his story directly from the afterlife in his memoir from beyond, My Life after Death. She lives in Houston, Texas.