Happy Families: How to Protect and Support Your Child's Mental Health

by Dr Beth Mosley MBE

Read by Dr Beth Mosley MBE, this audio edition features an exclusive chapter with guidance for parents on what to do if their child does not want to go to school.

Do you want to know how you can you support your child with anxiety?
Have you noticed changes in your child's behaviour, and you're not sure why?

Happy Families is your definitive guide to understanding your child's mental health, so they can survive and thrive.

Whether you're afraid that anxiety is controlling your child's life, struggling with getting your child out of a low mood cycle, or you just want support on how to communicate with them, this book is here to help.

Dr Beth Mosley MBE is one of the UK’s most experienced and respected consultant clinical psychologists, and she works with children, young people and their families every day. In this groundbreaking guide aimed at parents of children aged 4-21, she offers a comprehensive toolkit that will help you make sense of what your child is going through, and give you the hope and reassurance you need to make a change.

Filled with invaluable tools, quick-fire exercises, and case studies, Happy Families has everything you need to protect and support your child's mental health.

'The must-have family handbook – accessible, equipping and game-changing' – Anna Mathur, author of Mind Over Mother

'Dr Beth offers what all struggling parents an evidence-based road map to helping your child find themselves again' – Amber Hatch, author of Mindfulness for Parents

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit]

If you need more support for your child with mental health struggles, this is a great resource. I really appreciate Dr. Mosley’s expertise on the subject, and she has included many different strategies to use with varied issues. She covers ADHD, neurodivergence, depression, anxiety and more. There are also suggestions for other online resources, such as apps and websites.

Mental health has always been an issue, but more and more people are struggling, especially our teens, and ESPECIALLY since the pandemic. Let’s help break the stigma about talking about these topics! Our kids need us to step up. I will always champion resources like this book.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (thank you!), but this did not affect my review in any way.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small]

I I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Happy Families is an amazing guidebook for anyone who wants to help and support their child's mental health and loved what a wealth of advice and support was within this book.
The book is divided up into sections, making it easier to find what you are looking for. The book is aimed at support for all ages of children and offers tips and examples for both yourself and your child to understand.
The area about adolescence and the changes it brings to both mind and body was very interesting and helps you to understand better just what they are going through so you can support them better.
I loved how the author shared her own struggles within the book, which comes as a balm to any struggles you yourself might be facing or going through, making you feel less alone.
I've added this to my wish list to buy as it's definitely a book I want to go back to at times for support and guidance with my own daughter who's eleven and to pass on to my eldest daughter with her own child.

[Katy]

A one stop shop to help you understand the ways of kids, young people, adolescents, teenagers and that awkward transtioney (is that a word?) phase between teenager to adult phase.

A valuable read for any parent and also as a professional to be able to put into practice supporting those with mental health challenges.

[Dakota S.]

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A great resource for parents whose children are experiencing hard times or for parents wanting more information on mental health in children and communication. This information was laid out well and explains information that is easily absorbed.

Much of this information was beginner, but it offered new approaches and updated research. I listened to the audiobook. The audio was good; though it was read like a text book at times. There were examples and case studies to connect the information to real life. There are many activities and tasks to do with your children if this is something you want.

A good book I would recommend to parents wanting more information on parenting and mental wellness on children and young people.

[Harriet Shearsmith]

What an absolutely fantastic book. A must read if you have teens or even tweens, navigating that push pull relationship. 10/10.

[FionaH]

This book is well-written and offers very practical, helpful advice to parents of children and adolescents regarding how to protect their mental health. I would recommend it to all parents.

The early part of the book offers some excellent advice regarding “screen time” (it’s what you use it for that is more important than how much you use it), tips to help you and your kids to understand what is going on in their brain (and yours) when they “flip their lid” and how to handle these situations, and guidance on how to help your child overcome anxiety and fears. This part would be helpful to parents of kids of all ages, whether they currently struggle with their mental health or not.

The latter part is probably more relevant to parents with older kids (10 plus), as it delves into the challenges of adolescence, the changes in their minds, bodies and social structures that can impact on their mental health (and their relationship with their parents), and suggests practical ways to support your child through these challenges. I really liked the “manager to coach” metaphor to describe how your role in your child’s life evolves as they move from dependent childhood to independent adulthood.

The author is an experienced child psychologist and mother to 3 adolescents herself. She shares stories of her own struggles, which offers reassurance that even the experts find parenting challenging. I listened to the audiobook of this, which I’d borrowed from the library. I didn’t have access to the “accompanying pdf” which would have been nice to have, but I took a huge amount from the book even without this. In the end, I felt the book was so useful that I bought a hard copy of the book. I can see myself dipping into it regularly, and look forward to employing the tips and strategies contained in it over the coming years.

[hollie reads it all]

As a new parent, Mosley’s book is an incredible toolkit to use as a guide to navigate coming years. Not all of it was immediately applicable to me, but it provided an excellent roadmap of how to approach common issues - without panicking. There is truly something for everyone, in this book.

As a mental health professional, Mosley is (obviously) extremely well qualified, and an expert in her field. Her book is packed with resources, citations, and evidence to back up her assertions and assessments.

As an author, Mosley is engaging and clear in her writing. A science-based book about mental health could be tedious, but Mosley balances real life anecdotes from her parenting journey, with scientific evidence, and adapted accounts from her actual patients (names changed, of course!). It’s the perfect parent guide that provides value, but feels like a conversation with another mom (albeit a very-well-educated-and-highly-specialized-in-this-particular -field mom).

I would absolutely recommend this book to another parent, or parent-to-be. It’s a great toolkit for wherever you are on your parenting journey.

I received an ARC audiobook from the publisher, for which I am very grateful. For busy parents, I fully suggest listening to this audiobook.

[Amy Alexander]

Dr Beth Mosley has succeeded in writing an incredibly valuable handbook for parents and carers, yet it will also be useful to everyone, regardless of how involved you are with any children and young people in your life. I think anyone from teenage years upwards would gain a lot from this excellent book. Dr Mosley has interweaved theory, research and personal experience to create an accessible font of knowledge. Her integration of psychological theories and approaches from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and evolutionary psychology is skilfully done. Prior knowledge of these approaches isn’t required, but those in the profession will recognise how Dr Mosley’s ideas can be integrated into the many approaches they already use in their practice. The focus on the brain development through the ages, continuing into adolescence, is such important information and one we all can tend to neglect when thinking about what we expect our teenagers to manage in this world – we stop counting the developmental milestones when our children reach school, yet the emotional development of the brain is only just beginning. Dr Mosley brings this to the fore which is much needed when thinking about how we support our young people. However, concepts such as “flipping your lid” apply at whatever age we are and hence the book can provide invaluable insight on a personal level too.

The book provides an integrated approach and as a clinician working with children and young people, I cannot recommend this book highly enough to parents/carers, grandparents, teachers – anyone with any contact with children and young people (so most of the population!). Clinicians will find the material in this book beautifully supports some of the thinking we use in our therapy sessions, bringing the concepts to life with examples drawn from Dr Mosley’s clinical and personal experiences.

To have a book that covers many of the pertinent areas of children’s emotional wellbeing and the concerns parents/carers might have is rare. This is a one-stop shop for all the needs from anxiety to low mood, to social media to concerns about self-harm to the general principles we all need to follow to maintain good mental health, in a similar way to the main principles we should follow to support our physical health. Dr Mosely’s concept of the abacus to think about the seven key fundamental aspects of things we can do to support and protect our mental health is simple yet ingenious. When used the way she has suggested it will support both self-reflection and conversations with others about the small changes that can be made to your own and the children/young people in your life’s approach that could have huge impacts on improving yours and their wellbeing. The book is separated into sections which can be easily dipped in and out of as needed. The activities and points of reflection with worksheets at the end provide a really useful tool that could be used by families, teachers and therapists.

This is most definitely the book I wish I had written! I think it should be on everyone’s bookshelf.

[Shai]

This book is an all-encompassing guide to parenthood. Covering everything from the effect of the pandemic to how to correct your child's behavior, it offers a great deal of advice in how to best connect with your children and guide them through some of the most difficult (shaping) years of their young lives.

Each chapter offers a description, ways to approach your child and an "activity box" which is meant to help you to address something with yo0ur child. I like that the author acknowledges that she is not a perfect parent and that she has "messed up" as well. This makes it easier to take in the advice that they are dishing out in the book.

Overall I found Beth Mosley to be knowledgeable, the book to be well-researched and the advice given to be practical. I would recommend the book to other parents.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers for allowing me the chance to read the Advance Reader's Copy. The book was published on July 2, 2024.

[Elena]

This book should be given to the parents by the midwife, as soon as they become parents.
It's an amazing book 📖 which I wish I had read 15 years ago, but with two late teenage children, I still don't think it is late to learn from it and consider how very often parents reacting differently in some situations can be a game changer for their children and themselves.
This book is a must for every parent who recognises that there is a problem in their family and wishes to improve their relationship with their children or even parents ❤️
I loved the imaginary description of the brain 🧠 consisting of downstairs and upstairs parts connecting by the stairs 😊 , which made so much sense . And everything else as well.
Thank you Dr. B. Mosley for such a wonderful book.

[Julia]

I found this really interesting with some useful approaches to parenting however to say it is for parents of 4 - 21 year olds is a bit of a stretch and would say this is mostly relevant for children in the older age bracket.

[Sarah Watson]

I rented the audiobook from the library. You don't get the pdf this way bit this book is so reliant on the pdf worksheets it was impossible to follow as an audio book

[astrid bee]

i think this should be considered essential reading for anyone that wants to have kids