What do you think?
Rate this book
Summary: How Children Succeed ...in 30 Minutes - A Concise Summary of Paul Tough's Bestselling Book
How Children Succeed ...in 30 minutes is the essential guide to quickly understanding the important lessons outlined in Paul Tough's bestselling book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.
Understand the key ideas behind How Children Succeed in a fraction of the time:
* 18 essential insights and takeaways
* 8 illustrative case studies
* 5 chapter-by-chapter synopses
In How Children Succeed, bestselling author Paul Tough examines the research of neuroscientists, medical doctors, psychologists, educators, and economists to discover the qualities that lead to successful children and, ultimately, successful adults.
An essential read for parents, social workers, educators, and politicians, How Children Succeed stresses the importance of noncognitive skills and concludes that developing a child's character strengths--grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity--is the most powerful tool in helping children reach for success.
A 30 Minute Expert Summary of How Children Succeed
Designed for those whose desire to learn exceeds the time they have available, the How Children Succeed summary helps readers quickly and easily become experts ...in 30 minutes.
Understand the key ideas behind How Children Succeed in a fraction of the time:
* 18 essential insights and takeaways
* 8 illustrative case studies
* 5 chapter-by-chapter synopses
In How Children Succeed, bestselling author Paul Tough examines the research of neuroscientists, medical doctors, psychologists, educators, and economists to discover the qualities that lead to successful children and, ultimately, successful adults.
An essential read for parents, social workers, educators, and politicians, How Children Succeed stresses the importance of noncognitive skills and concludes that developing a child's character strengths--grit, self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity--is the most powerful tool in helping children reach for success.
A 30 Minute Expert Summary of How Children Succeed
Designed for those whose desire to learn exceeds the time they have available, the How Children Succeed summary helps readers quickly and easily become experts ...in 30 minutes.
- GenresNonfiction
38 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2012
2 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2026
I enjoy these summaries from this publisher, but the opening sections could use some improvement.
Some notes:
In the United States, developments in the mid-1990s gave rise to the cognitive hypothesis, or the idea that a child’s cognitive abilities and IQ score are the most significant determinants of the child’s future success. This idea in turn sparked intense focus on making sure that children were “book smart.” Parents turned their attention to building their children’s vocabulary and drilling them on math facts, confident in the idea that proficiency in these areas would ensure great accomplishments and lifelong happiness for their kids. According to Paul Tough, however, emerging research shows that these parents’ confidence in the cognitive hypothesis was misplaced.
Tough sees character traits like grit and self-control as having the potential to close the education gap between affluent and low-income students and pave the way for great discoveries and innovations. These are traits that help children accept their failures, evaluate their mistakes, and create new solutions, Tough says, and he points to research showing that bright, affluent students who lack these traits may be incapable of resilience and vulnerable to depression and even addiction. The power of character rests in part on two messages—that intelligence is not a flxed, inborn quality but can be increased, and that positive traits of character can be learned, practiced, and strengthened.
* * *
[He talks about] destructive impact of “adverse childhood experiences,” or ACEs, such as violence and neglect, and offers a startlingly simple resolution—close, nurturing parental relationships. Tough explains that ACEs cause intense levels of stress, which strains the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (AHP) axis, the body’s stress-regulating system. Children who grow up in high-risk homes where drugs, abuse, and neglect run rampant are particularly susceptible to this type of damage. In this exaggerated state of stress, executive functions—the higher-order mental abilities that allow people to deal with confusing and unpredictable situations—are impeded. Tough suggests that the damage to children from neurological, physiological, and psychological impacts of ACEs will be much less acute if we can teach children to develop executive functions.
* * *
Tough cites studies showing that students who believe it’s possible for them to increase their intelligence do better academically than students who see intelligence as an inborn, unchanging quality. It’s a question of mind-set, Tough says, and he stresses the importance of developing a growth mind-set in students because the message that intelligence can be increased with mental work is one that carries incredible power. Students who are able to internalize this message come to believe in their ability to grow, Tough says, and they show noticeable academic improvement. Similarly, he says, if students see character traits as susceptible to constant development, they also become inspired to improve in that area. Tough sees these messages as particularly beneficial for students who have not been brought up to believe that they’re smart or that their futures hold the promise of success.
At the same time, Tough says, students who have grown up with confidence in their abilities and with feelings of security about their futures aren’t necessarily guaranteed successful outcomes, and they face their own challenges. For instance, he notes that affluent students seem particularly lacking in grit, a quality that comes with the experience of overcoming obstacles and disappointments and climbing mountains to attain a goal. On this point, Tough cites Dominic Randolph, headmaster at Riverdale Country School. Randolph says his students—who achieve high scores on the SAT, are told that everything they do is wonderful, and believe that their wealth and connections will automatically bring them a life of affluence and success—do not know how to pick themselves up after a failure and have trouble recovering from setbacks. Among low-income students, however, strong character traits become a safety net when family members, schools, and the culture in general can’t offer the built-in protection from failure that affluent kids enjoy. This is one reason why Tough believes that character may hold the key to bridging the education gap between wealthy and poor students.
* * *
In the late 1990s two research psychologists, Suniya S. Luthar and Chris C. Sexton, performed a study comparing more than two hundred mostly white and wealthy suburban tenth graders with their mostly African American and low-income urban counterparts. The researchers were surprised to discover that the affluent students suffered much higher incidences of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and academic difficulty. Luthar and Sexton were then asked to conduct another study, this one at a middle school, where they followed a cohort of affluent students and determined that outcomes for these students were decisively influenced by their relationships with their parents. For affluent as well as low-income students, they found delinquent behavior and mood disorders positively correlated with low levels of maternal attachment, high levels of criticism from parents, and minimal after-school supervision. Among wealthy students, excessive academic pressure and feelings of isolation were identified as the main causes of distress.
Some notes:
In the United States, developments in the mid-1990s gave rise to the cognitive hypothesis, or the idea that a child’s cognitive abilities and IQ score are the most significant determinants of the child’s future success. This idea in turn sparked intense focus on making sure that children were “book smart.” Parents turned their attention to building their children’s vocabulary and drilling them on math facts, confident in the idea that proficiency in these areas would ensure great accomplishments and lifelong happiness for their kids. According to Paul Tough, however, emerging research shows that these parents’ confidence in the cognitive hypothesis was misplaced.
Tough sees character traits like grit and self-control as having the potential to close the education gap between affluent and low-income students and pave the way for great discoveries and innovations. These are traits that help children accept their failures, evaluate their mistakes, and create new solutions, Tough says, and he points to research showing that bright, affluent students who lack these traits may be incapable of resilience and vulnerable to depression and even addiction. The power of character rests in part on two messages—that intelligence is not a flxed, inborn quality but can be increased, and that positive traits of character can be learned, practiced, and strengthened.
* * *
[He talks about] destructive impact of “adverse childhood experiences,” or ACEs, such as violence and neglect, and offers a startlingly simple resolution—close, nurturing parental relationships. Tough explains that ACEs cause intense levels of stress, which strains the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (AHP) axis, the body’s stress-regulating system. Children who grow up in high-risk homes where drugs, abuse, and neglect run rampant are particularly susceptible to this type of damage. In this exaggerated state of stress, executive functions—the higher-order mental abilities that allow people to deal with confusing and unpredictable situations—are impeded. Tough suggests that the damage to children from neurological, physiological, and psychological impacts of ACEs will be much less acute if we can teach children to develop executive functions.
* * *
Tough cites studies showing that students who believe it’s possible for them to increase their intelligence do better academically than students who see intelligence as an inborn, unchanging quality. It’s a question of mind-set, Tough says, and he stresses the importance of developing a growth mind-set in students because the message that intelligence can be increased with mental work is one that carries incredible power. Students who are able to internalize this message come to believe in their ability to grow, Tough says, and they show noticeable academic improvement. Similarly, he says, if students see character traits as susceptible to constant development, they also become inspired to improve in that area. Tough sees these messages as particularly beneficial for students who have not been brought up to believe that they’re smart or that their futures hold the promise of success.
At the same time, Tough says, students who have grown up with confidence in their abilities and with feelings of security about their futures aren’t necessarily guaranteed successful outcomes, and they face their own challenges. For instance, he notes that affluent students seem particularly lacking in grit, a quality that comes with the experience of overcoming obstacles and disappointments and climbing mountains to attain a goal. On this point, Tough cites Dominic Randolph, headmaster at Riverdale Country School. Randolph says his students—who achieve high scores on the SAT, are told that everything they do is wonderful, and believe that their wealth and connections will automatically bring them a life of affluence and success—do not know how to pick themselves up after a failure and have trouble recovering from setbacks. Among low-income students, however, strong character traits become a safety net when family members, schools, and the culture in general can’t offer the built-in protection from failure that affluent kids enjoy. This is one reason why Tough believes that character may hold the key to bridging the education gap between wealthy and poor students.
* * *
In the late 1990s two research psychologists, Suniya S. Luthar and Chris C. Sexton, performed a study comparing more than two hundred mostly white and wealthy suburban tenth graders with their mostly African American and low-income urban counterparts. The researchers were surprised to discover that the affluent students suffered much higher incidences of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and academic difficulty. Luthar and Sexton were then asked to conduct another study, this one at a middle school, where they followed a cohort of affluent students and determined that outcomes for these students were decisively influenced by their relationships with their parents. For affluent as well as low-income students, they found delinquent behavior and mood disorders positively correlated with low levels of maternal attachment, high levels of criticism from parents, and minimal after-school supervision. Among wealthy students, excessive academic pressure and feelings of isolation were identified as the main causes of distress.
December 18, 2012
Good whether you have kids or not!
I could not stop highlighting things as I read! I wasn’t sure how to take this book after I read the introduction, but it turned out surprisingly great. What an encouragement to parents, knowing that life is going to knock us down but there’s a way to help our kids get back up is a wonderful tool. Highly recommend this book to people who have kids AND to those who do not. I saw a few things that I learned to recognize from this book which I can now address. Great read; although, I’d love to read the longer version as well. Good thing Christmas is coming up.
I could not stop highlighting things as I read! I wasn’t sure how to take this book after I read the introduction, but it turned out surprisingly great. What an encouragement to parents, knowing that life is going to knock us down but there’s a way to help our kids get back up is a wonderful tool. Highly recommend this book to people who have kids AND to those who do not. I saw a few things that I learned to recognize from this book which I can now address. Great read; although, I’d love to read the longer version as well. Good thing Christmas is coming up.
June 22, 2015
Often we look at successful adults and assume they had access to better schools, social backgrounds, or even simply more money than the rest of their peers. Paul Tough disagreed and wrote a book to show why. If you’re busy trying to figure out or maintain your own success and don’t have time to read the whole book, pick up Garamond’s Concise Summary of Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed . . . in 30 minutes. In just a half hour you’ll learn how to promote the skills and traits necessary to allow children to overcome any of the obstacles of their current social or economic status. Believe it or not, the things they need rarely cost any more time or money than the book itself.
June 29, 2016
Very good insight on the book How children succeed, it is next on my list..
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews