The Seven Principles for Raising a Self-Driven Child: A Workbook

by William Stixrud, Ned Johnson

From the authors of The Self-Driven Child, a workbook of vital practices and step-by-step resources for parents striving to raise self-motivated, secure, and joyfully driven children

A guide to move from understanding the science and value behind nonanxious parenting to developing and sharpening the essential skills parents need to be a trusted resource for growing kids.

Authors William Stixrud and Ned Johnson have watched firsthand as the crisis around education and the mental health crisis in childhood have converged in the postpandemic years. Their book The Self-Driven Child was ahead of the curve in addressing the way these forces converge in adolescents at pivotal moments as children develop their sense of autonomy, ambition, self-discipline, and learning style. As the authors have continued to lecture on the book’s subject, parents have again and again homed in on the value of the model dialogues and practice prompts.

Using material from their current work with parents and children, and pulling essential principles from the science in The Self-Driven Child, this workbook guides parents to develop the practice of being a nonanxious presence in children’s lives, as well as introducing essential skills for navigating the pressure cooker of school. With prompts to help parents diagnose and rewire their instinctual response​s to stressful situations, exercises to give them the language to communicate clearly and calmly, and lists to keep anxiety responses in check and big-picture goals in view, this workbook will bring peace and clarity to parents and educators seeking to support the unique path each child traverses on the road to growing up.

Genres: Parenting

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2025

Reviews

[Yvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the authors of The Self-Driven Child, here is a workbook to guide you through thinking about your decisions, words, and actions _before_ you are thrust into those situations. A large portion of the exercises are dedicated to helping parents stop trying to control children and become a mentor or guiding hand instead, a change which will help to instill some independence in the children. After all, as they say, “when parents work harder than their kids to solve their problems, their kids get weaker, not stronger.” In this workbook, each chapter focuses on a specific set of circumstances _and_ walks you through how to respond at different ages. (After all, you'd treat a 12 year old differently from a 17 year old, I hope.) This allows parents to really think through and prepare responses rooted in using logic to provide the best for their children rather than reacting in the heat of the moment.

[Ginny Yurich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a wonderful, wonderful read about not trying to control so much. I loved the workbook aspect of it. The questions are very thought-provoking.