Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids

by Eileen Kennedy-Moore

Publisher's Summary

As a parent, you can't make friends for your children, nor can you prevent them from ever feeling hurt or upset. But with the right guidance, you can support them in learning how to solve problems, cope with feelings, and build satisfying relationships.
Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids gives you access to the same practical advice and actionable plans that Dr. Kennedy-Moore - an in-demand psychologist and author who serves on the advisory board for Parents magazine - shares with clients in her Princeton, New Jersey, practice. Drawing from the her extensive clinical experience - as well as personal experience as a mother of four - these 12 lectures provide a deeper understanding of your child's development and ways to address common stumbling blocks with compassion.
In the first half, you'll focus on emotional intelligence and the pivotal role parents can play in helping children understand and cope with their feelings. You'll discover strategies for managing early-childhood meltdowns; simple techniques to inspire cooperation; constructive ways to deal with back-talk, aggression, and unkind behavior; methods to help children cope with anxiety; and more.
In the latter half, you'll turn to social intelligence and the challenges children face in making friends, plus practical ways you can guide them through the process. Here, you'll explore how you can support your child in getting along with others; being a good sport; handling conflicts; dealing with bullying; and coping with gossip and cliques.
You'll conclude with a candid discussion of friendship in the digital age, looking at video game playing and the relatively new but troubling phenomena of cyberbullying and "Facebook depression".
©2014 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2014 The Great Courses

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Psychology, Relationships, Self Help, Childrens

Audio CD

First published September 26, 2014

About the author

Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD, aka "Dr. Friendtastic," is an author, psychologist, and speaker, who specializes in parenting and children’s feelings and friendships. Her most recent books for children are Moody Moody Cars and Growing Friendships: A Kids' Guide to Making and Keeping Friends . She has also written or co-authored four books for parents: Kid Confidence , Smart Parenting for Smart Kids , The Unwritten Rules of Friendship , and What’s My Child Thinking?

Dr. Kennedy-Moore's podcast, Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic, features 5-minute episodes answering children's questions about friendship. Her blog, Growing Friendships on Psychology Today has over 4.8 million views.

As a trusted expert on parenting and child development, Dr. Kennedy-Moore has been a featured guest on Live with Kelly and Ryan, The Today Show, Good Day Philadelphia, and dozens of radio shows and podcasts. She has been quoted many times in major newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune Parents, Real Simple, Working Mother, and, Woman's Day.

Dr. Kennedy-Moore has a private practice in Princeton, NJ (lic. #35SI00425400), where she works with adults, children, and families, and she often presents at schools, corporations, and conferences. She and her husband have four grown children.

Learn more at EileenKennedyMoore.com or DrFriendtastic.com (for kids).

Reviews

[Wafaa Darwich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will come back to it again later

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some bits feel like common sense but I also did learn a lot and realise that not everything is common sense depending on how you were raised/whether you know much about kids/psychology/child development Docked some points for the thing that bugs me when people say he/she instead of they, or inputing gender where it does not need to be specified (although it does feel 50/50 but arguably these can still enforce gender stereotypes unnecessarily idk just an irk for me)

[Vėjas Galvoje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labai smagus ir konkretus paskaitų ciklas. Jei turite vaikų arba galvojate kad jau apie juos viską žinot, tai šis skaitinys jums, nes čia surasit tai ko negirdėjot ir nežinote...

[Tré · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most helpful parenting books I've read. Need to read again to review.

[Bert Heymans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good course, it's practical and insightful. I felt reassured and learned a few things.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly common sense (or at least you would think, but there's a lot of crappy parents out there) strategies to help you children through each stage of pre-adulthood. A little too anecdotal for my taste. May even be good for some older kids to listen to if they're struggling or are under the impression their situation is unique.

[Trevor Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical. Well organized. I really got a lot out of this. In fact, I think it's worth picking up again every time one of my kids enters into a new stage in life.

[Fernando Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice one, this one!

The book offers a range of techniques that are not only beneficial but also crucial for a child's emotional development. These strategies can help kiddos to become more aware and in control of their emotions:

- Emotion coaching: a method that not only recognizes, respects, and validates a child's emotions but also guides them in responding to those emotions constructively, fostering their emotional development.

- Creating an emotionally intelligent environment: a crucial role for parents in creating a home environment that encourages emotional expression and teaches children how to deal with their feelings positively.

- Active listening: parents should give full attention to their children, understand their verbal and non-verbal cues, and respond empathetically.

- Setting limits and problem-solving: setting boundaries that respect a child's emotions while teaching them the necessary skills to solve problems independently.

- Building self-esteem and confidence: how to help children develop a positive self-image and confidence through praise, encouragement, and setting achievable goals.

- Developing social skills: strategies for improving social skills, such as sharing, cooperating, and resolving conflicts with other kiddos.

It perfectly balances theory and practice, making it a valuable resource I'll refer to regularly. Its practicality and ease of implementation stand out! 👍🏻

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5-Star Review: Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids by Eileen Kennedy-Moore

This book offers a thoughtful and practical look at parenting with emotional intelligence in mind. Eileen Kennedy-Moore does a great job breaking down complex ideas into manageable advice for real-life situations. Her tone is warm, reassuring, and nonjudgmental—making it feel like you’re getting advice from a trusted friend or wise mentor.

One of the strengths of the book is how it balances emotional development with social guidance. It covers everything from managing big feelings to helping kids build friendships and navigate tricky social situations. The examples and suggestions are relatable and useful, especially for parents of elementary-aged kids.

That said, some parts felt a little repetitive or overly general. While there were lots of helpful takeaways, I found myself wanting a bit more depth or specificity in certain chapters. It’s definitely geared more toward everyday parenting than deeper psychological exploration.

Overall, this is a solid resource for parents looking to support their kids’ emotional and social growth with kindness and intention. Not groundbreaking, but definitely worthwhile—especially if you’re looking for calm, compassionate guidance without being overwhelmed.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this over the last couple days while working around the house.

I appreciated that it has a lot of common sense knowledge and it did not spend the majority of time exploring queen-bee syndrome like some other books for girls. This work had a lot of great advice for my first grader - especially about making friends and playing well with others.

There were a few moments of silly advice, but I was able to recognize and discount those easily, based on other books/psychology programs. (I love Dr. Ray Guarendi!) Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this work.

I can see myself returning to this and listening to it again in the future.

[LeeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really excellent. I love how each chapter is concise and focused. I also love that the recommendations are evidence based and delivered as clear action plans not esoteric postulating.

This was just filled with interesting advice such as using a Venn diagram to explain to school age children that making friends is about connecting - "this circle is you, the other circle is your friend, then parting the middle is where friendships grow. If you're talking about something that's outside of the overlap, that's true only of you and not the other kid, that has nothing to do with friendship."

Helpful for toddlers through teens with advice for all stages.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Courses doesn't disappoint, as usual. A short series of lectures on the emotional well-being of kids and how to help them develop well. I do feel there are some differences between boys and girls that Professor Kennedy-Moore didn't touch on, but since there are only 6 hours worth of lectures (other Great Courses I've listened to have been much longer), perhaps some of that just ended up not being included for the general approach that will serve any parent well.

These should be required listening for all parents.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eileen Kennedy-Moore is a very engaging and insightful lecturer. I really enjoyed listening to her. Although much of it largely seemed like common sense, it was still nice (and validating) to hear opinions from a well educated, intelligent woman with child rearing philosophies I agree with. I thought she had some great suggestions for dealing with and diffusing painful and/or awkward bullying and friendship situations. I have younger children and also appreciated the peak forward at what I'm likely to encounter as the kids get older.

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

You wouldn't believe it by the title but this book mentions nothing about how to spank your kids without leaving a mark. The answer is use a phone book. You're welcome. I just saved you a bunch of time.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The information was well organized and useful overall, even for our older children who listened with us. If you're a reader of parenting books you may have heard most of it already, but this makes for a great refresher course.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information with some applicable strategies -- the text by itself is laid out in bullet points and not especially conversational in tone. I do have the accompanying DVD lectures, which are seem a bit more useful and I intend to follow up with as time allows.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. the earlier chapters helped more because I have smaller kids. Nothing unique here, but still reinforcement for what I already know.

[Justin Aquino · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really good. It puts into perspective so much of their puzzling behavior and our won experience growing up.
If anything it allows us to do less harm.

[Todd Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much my instruction manual as a parent.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong, informative content coupled with an enjoyably exuberant delivery.

I will likely revisit this one

[Joshua Dew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of helpful parenting info, well organized, overall an enjoyable lecture series.

[Stella Comer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series of lectures. Would like to come back to when I have teenagers during children’s vulnerable and more independent years.

[Chuong Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, the book proposes strategies to raise healthy kids according to the research.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I slowly listened to this over the summer and loved it. Lots of good, practical advice.

[Abrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative

[Elliott Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical. Insightful. Interesting. Will come back to it later. 4.5 stars.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not what I expected it to be, but I listened to it anyhow and ended up really enjoying it. It had some great tips and pointers in the lectures and an overall wonderful read.

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, concise introduction to the current literature on how to address common issues with kids--anxiety, anger, friendship difficulties, and more.

[Vvvvv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise and informative, with practical advice. Each chapter is focused on a different topic, like self-esteem, friendships, etc. I was pleasantly surprised by the book.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. This is the second book I’ve read by her. She is wise, empathetic, funny, and not prescriptive or preachy. TBD how much it will help my parenting. 🙃