Seligman has some good strategies in his book. But he has a fundamental misunderstanding of depression. It's not always caused by the same thing and therefore what works for one person or even lots of people doesn't work for everyone. This was very frustrating to me. So while I had some good strategy takeaways, he misses so much.

Never finished

The Optimistic Child (1996) explores both the benefits of raising children to be optimistic and the dangers of pessimistic thinking.

Drawing on psychologist Martin Seligman’s seminal research, this practical guide explains how parents can instill optimism in their children and equip them with a healthy way of thinking.

Martin Seligman is the master of positive psychology. This book is his solution -- "a immunization" against depression. His idea is to try to build into schooling and parenting exercises that will encourage children to develop better ways of thinking about adversity.

As a book, it is not terribly readable -- that is to say, the second half is filled with lots of exercises to use with children and get them to explore different ways of thinking. The ABCs of cognitive behavioral therapy are helpful to understanding why adverse situations completely derail some children while others seem to be able to continue on.

As a handbook, I would probably give this book five stars. As a book, I would only give it three stars. That said, if you have children who struggle with pessimism, or who are completely flummoxed by the challenges they find in everyday life, this book sets forward a plan by which you can give them the tools to break out of the negative thought patterns they find themself in.

I read this book several years ago, following my education degree. Now, maybe 10 years later, I read it as a PARENT first and educator second, and it is revolutionary to me. I worry that my children will fall into depression, anxiety, stress. This book gives me practical tools, scenarios, role-plays to think through how to help them.

Tools like:
-Permanence- this is not a permanent situation. It can change. It is a season.
-Thought-catching- What is TRUE/FALSE about my negative thoughts?
-De-catastrophizing- honestly looking at the worst that could happen
-Mastery- depression can come from a feeling of loss of control. So give kids control over what they can control.

I took notes like crazy and have practical ideas to implement.

My only criticism of this book is that it has a few too many examples and case studies that draw it out to be longer than I thought necessary. But some may enjoy reading examples.

This would be much better in hard copy, not audio. The reading of the activity pages was drudgery. Yet Solid concepts.

Good practical guide with many exercises to be done with children. Maybe it has a bit too much context at times but it could have been too dry otherwise.

Dnf at 17%. Seems outdated and biased.

[B] I found CBT is very helpful for my own case. This book provides valuable examples even for an adult that want to "rerise" herself. This book need a lot of practice so should repeat reading.

I liked the sound principles discussed and demonstrated in this book, and I was relieved to see that we are moving away from the Self-Esteem Movement where individuals were praised regardless of their behavior. Under those circumstances, praise becomes meaningless and children move toward an attitude of entitlement. For the last decade the term "consequence" has been considered to be politically incorrect, but there are consequences to everything we do--either positive consequences or negative consequences. I found Dr. Seligman's book to be both refreshing and sound. Highly Recommended!

Lots of practical application here, and not just for kids.

A really great resource with TONS of information. I found this one to be a book to own.

Especially in today's world, I found the author's mention of the Polio epidemic in the 1950s, and him losing one of his baseball teammates to the disease to be heart breaking. He then mentioned after a vaccine life went back to normal.

So, the goal for our kids is to "Immunize them psychologically."

"Change pessimism into optimism is the way you immunize children against depression."