Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive: 10th Anniversary Edition Paperback – Illustrated, December 26, 2013

One of the best books I have ever read.

This was a good read.

Part self-help book/part advanced course in Psychology of Child Development, it is as enticing a read for the average parent as well as the grad student. The authors (one a teacher, the other a shrink) provide the self-awareness you seek (complete with do-it-yourself therapy worksheet!) if you dare to go there.It's loaded with useful case studies/real life examples that will have your memory jogging back to long-ago childhood experiences. It also gave me a window into the likely circumstances that foster so much fear and anger in parents & the unfortunate impact of those reactions on both parents and their children.The work of Daniel Siegel (especially this book but also his others) provided me with tremendous empathy for my own parents' best efforts and better yet, granted me knowledge that my actions need not be habituated and instictual but instead can be guided, mindful and focused on the long-term goals of nurturance and love for my child.A must-read for every expectant parent!

Sadly I think that there are more parents in the US who ARE clueless, who struggle as parents and perhaps crave guidance V.S. those who actually got what they needed in early childhood development and slip easily into the shoes of their parenting role.I feel sorry that some people who have read this book have resorted to the comfort of their critical, judgmental thought process and found the work lacking for one reason or another. They have missed the lesson that was repeated throughout the book. - approach your world and your child with a curious, open, accepting and loving mental stance. Let me say that this is NOT a book about permissive parenting with out appropriate boundaries. It does suggest that we have to be introspective first before we can open our mind and become available to be taught by other's perspectives. In order to maintain that teachable moment in our self, we have to be able to make sense of our own mental filters. If we don't come to terms with our own mind, how will we ever come to terms with some one else's?Our schools are suffering the consequence of linear mental processing with no integration with right brain activity. Kids are forced to march in unison with no flexibility for individualization or remediation without great shame - (pulling kids out for special ed. or tutoring that could be integrated into class structure if curriculum wasn't so restrictive).If we don't create passion for learning early enough for our children, they are doomed to shut down. Then the remediation becomes far more complex than just educational remediation. Trust and rapport must be won, before an attempt can be made to address vulnerabilities and areas of weakness. Teaching occurs only when there is an environment of trust and compassion. Fear can teach in the moment, but the lessons are not the best or the most sustainable, and can backlash into resentment and anger.This is an attempt to open a dialogue based on MANY individual research projects that have come to similar realizations about how the brain develops and how we integrate knowledge.The only way society is ever going to move forward is if we can collectively suspend our critical and judgmental thought process and start to think in a more open, curious, and global way. What are the odds that we can make that happen when people discount the whole after taking exception to one or two statements? What filters are they overlaying when the dialogue as a whole is deemed invalid based on their perception of one or two ideas?I urge ANYONE who anticipates or is currently working with children to make the effort and read this book in its entirety with an open heart and mind. I believe the keys to a successful future society are contained within the content of these pages.

This book sheds light on why we act and react in the way that we do when it comes to relationships with our children. It is a nice guide for putting your own life into perspective so that you can bond more deeply with your child. It has been eye opening for me. It is written in a somewhat text book style at a pretty high reading level. It’s very heavy on the neuroscience, which at times can be a tad bit painstaking to decipher and interpret meaning for folks who don’t have any formal scientific background or experience. It also says that it is not a “how to” book but a “how we” book and that is 100% accurate in my assessment. You won’t necessarily learn how to cope with raising your children, you will gain understanding as to why you tend to cope the way that you do cope. This understanding could be very helpful in helping you raise coherent, emotionally secure children. Since starting this book, my capacity for empathy and understanding for both my son and myself has grown immensely. My bottom line on this book is that it is good background knowledge and especially helpful for people who have a sense of unresolved issues from their own childhood. Wouldn’t recommend this as a first book to reach for if you are struggling with parenting issues however. It’s more for people who are looking for deeper resolution to problematic patterns in their parenting journey and for people who enjoy and appreciate neuroscience.

The reviewers that gave this book less than 4-5 stars are exactly the people that need to re read this book. We see the world through the lens of memory and everything in our past influences our behavior. While this is not a " how to " manual for solving certain problems step by step with our children, it is a much deeper and longer lasting fix. It helps the reader to self examine and become the kind of parent they want to be instead of the kind of parent that they are programmed to be based on their family history.I think this is a fantastic book for parents that are serious about being the best people they can be for their children. I wish it was written 30+ years ago when I had my first child.If you are fairly intelligent and want to prepare yourself to be the best parent you can be ( any age child ) - do yourself and your kids a favor. Get the book. I wish they taught this stuff in school.