|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsHealth Tip: Get Your Child to School on TimeDoes Bullying Start at Home?Opioids Overprescribed for Common Children's Fracture, Study SaysHalf of U.S. Kids With a Mental Health Disorder Don't Get TreatmentHealth Tip: Talk to Your Kids Early About Alcohol UseBouncing From 'Jump Park' Trampolines Into the ERHealth Tip: Prevent the Spread of Head LiceHealth Tip: Cook With Your ChildThe Lowdown on E-Cigarette Risks for KidsAs More U.S. Homes Have Handguns, Child Deaths RiseKids Exposed to Lead at Higher Odds for Mental Health Issues LaterMany Parents Wrong About What Prevents Colds in KidsMovie Violence Doesn't Make Kids Violent, Study FindsJunk Food Ads Target Minority Kids: StudyParents Often Unaware of Kids' Suicidal ThoughtsFiber: It's Not Just for AdultsAnimal Study Suggests Ritalin Won't Harm the HeartHealth Tip: Foster Healthy Hair Habits for KidsSkeletons Mature Earlier Now, Affecting Orthopedic TreatmentsNo Link Between Mom-to-Be's Diet, Baby's Allergy RiskBe Alert for Concussions in Young AthletesHealth Tip: Risk Factors for Stroke in KidsFoods That Can Lead to Obesity in KidsOpioid Overdose Deaths Triple Among Teens, KidsWhopping Numbers on Whooping CoughIs Juice on School Menus a Problem?More U.S. Kids Dying From Guns, Car AccidentsDon't Send Report Cards Home on This DayHealth Tip: Giving Cough Medicine to a ChildHealthy Sleep Habits for Kids Pay Off'Experience to Share': Facebook Page Helps Families Hit by Polio-Like IllnessFamily, School Support May Help Stop Bullies in Their TracksInfections in the Young May Be Tied to Risk for Mental Illness: StudyDoctors More Cautious Now When Prescribing Opioids to KidsMany Cases of Polio-Like Illness in Kids May Be MisdiagnosedSecondhand Pot Smoke Can Harm an Asthmatic ChildObesity Boosts Childhood Asthma Risk by 30 PercentAsk About the Antibiotics Prescribed for Your ChildProbiotics Show No Effect on Kids' Tummy UpsetsWhat Are This Year's Most Dangerous Toys?Secondhand Pot Smoke Found in Kids' LungsNearly 1 in 12 U.S. Kids Has a Food AllergyKids Get Caught in Deadly Cross-Fire of Domestic ViolenceTwo Factors at Birth Can Boost a Child's Obesity RiskCDC Probe Continues as Cases of Polio-Like Illness Rise in KidsHealth Tip: Limit Fat, Sugar and Salt in Your Child's DietSome Activity Fine for Kids Recovering From Concussions, Docs SayDead End for Treatment of Polio-Like Disorder Striking KidsAHA: Traumatic Childhood Could Increase Heart Disease Risk in AdulthoodSmartphones, Summer Birth Could Raise Kids' Odds for Nearsightedness Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2006 Review by Julia Hui and Anthony R Dickinson. on Sep 26th 2006 
To
the reader who might have thought that praising another person was easy work,
and often simply satisfied by saying "Well Done!" or "Very Good",
here is a book which might change such views. Indeed, Hartley-Brewer tells us
that being able to appropriately praise one's children and/or students is
absolutely a subtle art. Furthermore, one's advice may well become unhelpful, unwelcome,
or even produce negative results, if praise be overused, or used in
inappropriate ways. Aimed at parents and teachers concerned with children of
all ages, this book certainly provides the reader with a series of useful,
child-centered advice and good-practice, and may be especially welcomed by
first-time parents and/or novice teachers in search of initial text/tips on
this subject.
Although
we do not fully agree with all of the views expressed, including the selection
of some of the specific examples and tips introduced in this book, there are
many reasons to take its content seriously. For example, Hartley-Brewer manages
to cover her chosen areas quite well, correctly (in our view) suggesting that
there are significant age ranges and gender differential factors to be
considered when praising our children/students. Moreover, the author reminds
the reader how praise might be delivered in a variety of effective ways, and
not only to rely upon the use of words, but also to include postural and
gestural approaches. Hartley-Brewer also includes a wide variety of exemplar
quotes provided by parents, teachers, school principals, daughters and students,
giving the reviewers the feeling that this book is not simply about listening
to a series of short lectures being delivered by the author, but instead
attempting to connect the reader with the primary sources being quoted.
Particularly
welcome was the way Hartley-Brewer chose to end her book, linking the earlier
chapters in her last, "Praise and You", reminding one of the old
Chinese saying, "In order to beat people, one should win over oneself
first!" Pertinent to both parents and teachers alike, it would appear
important to realize that, if one does not readily believe in, and/or
appreciate, praise for oneself, how can one expect to be able to then act as a convincing
parent or teacher, honestly giving encouragements to one's daughter/students by
using praise effectively?
Looking
a little more critically, there are perhaps comparatively too few tips/advice
for teachers, relative to those provided for parents in this book, and it may
be that Hartley-Brewer thinks that girls spend more of their time with their
mothers at home, rather than with their teachers in school? Indeed, this book
is perhaps not really helpful in inspiring teachers to praise their students
per se, but teachers certainly will benefit in that they may develop
better communications with their student's parents (as a result of reading both
of the tips sections) and thereafter be able to provide better advice to
parents concerning how to further encourage their daughters by their more effective
use of praise! Further to this gender-specificity issue, it is noteworthy that
some 90% of the text also appears in the 'boys' version of this book, (and we
could not help feeling that the Praising Boys Well volume was perhaps
written from the point of view of helping fathers coming to a better
understanding, and thus better handling of, their sons). This issue is raised
by the reviewers here in cautioning the reader against expecting two very
different books -- but such should not be taken to detract from the usefulness
of either book taken alone.
Definitely
not an academic, research-based laden book, this volume is nonetheless one that
we would recommend to be picked up, read and put alongside other welcome
additions to the bookshelf. This is a good first book for parents, and anyone
else working in the field of education wishing to boost their children/students'
self-esteem, confidence and personal potential, through the use of effective praise.
© 2006 Julia Hui and Tony Dickinson
Julia Hui and Dr. Tony Dickinson, PIC (Asia), Hong Kong, September, 2006.
|
