All Children Flourishing - Igniting the Greatness of Our Children

This approach was originally designed to help families help their difficult children better adapt to school and family life. During years of using this approach with these children, however, I discovered that it works beautifully to foster inner strength, higher achievement, happiness, security and exemplary conduct in every child. It is not just another positive approach to parenting designed to improve behavior. Rather, it s an approach to greatness, a method of recognizing and appreciating the gifts each child possesses. Parents who had been desperate to find something that worked and adopted the Nurtured Heart Approach with their difficult child typically also used the approach with their other children, because it s just easier that way. They would then report similar, extraordinary results: they described their other children as flourishing beyond anything they had ever seen or experienced before. This approach gives parents enormous power to help every child navigate an ever more complex world with confidence and an inner compass of greatness. This book also updates The Nurtured Heart Approach to incorporate the invaluable input and support I have gained over the years from those who have attended my trainings and read my books, those who have put the model into practice and have made it their own. They have helped the approach continue to evolve. This volume integrates the progress all of us have made in refining, expanding, and evolving the original approach. Although I was always pleased about the secondary impact of my work with difficult children on their less challenging peers and siblings, I had resisted the idea of writing a book on this subject. I just didn t see that as my focus; they didn t seem to need as much help as those who were obviously struggling. I was still only passionate about helping difficult children. But this view changed following the infamous day of September 11, 2001. I now feel an urgency I didn t feel before. I see that children carry more uncertainty and less hope than just a few years ago. They sense the fears, anxieties and pressures of the adults around them. Now, more than ever, children need to be significantly stronger on the inside to not only make it, but to make it a better world. They need a real inheritance, not monetary wealth, but inner wealth. We may no longer have the luxury of using old methods - conventional and traditional ways of instilling self-esteem and enforcing/reinforcing positive choices considering all that a child faces these days. We need approaches that put us all in an advantageous situation: a place where parents have tools at their disposal that reliably infuse their children with enormous inner strength. The stakes seem too high to do otherwise. We have to introduce them to who they really are at their core: a child who has and who carries the inspiration of intense greatness. And I am convinced, now more than ever, that every child has greatness to which they can be introduced if we do it properly. We can no longer just occasionally urge our children to feel self-worth, to make better choices and to have a better attitude. A more proactive approach is needed. We have to give them incontrovertible evidence, in real time, that they are successful. Note that I m not talking about their potential for success [e.g., Come on Billy - I know you can do this if you only try harder; I m talking about reflecting to each child that he or she is successful right now. To do this more powerful tools are needed and that is what this approach accomplishes. This is the foundation that will not only strengthen them enough to weather whatever storms come their way, but also will inspire them to live their lives at an entirely higher and more delightful trajectory.