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Your Child's Self-Esteem: Step-by-Step Guidelines for Raising Responsible, Productive, Happy Children
Step-by step guidelines for raising responsible, productive, happy children. Self-image is your child's most important characteristic. How to help create strong feelings of self-worth is the central challenge for every parent and teacher. The formula for how is spelled out in Your Child's Self-Esteem.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa and other honoraries, Dorothy Corkille Briggs has worked as a teacher of both children and adults; dean of girls; school psychologist; and marriage, family and child counselor during the last twenty-five years. Since 1958 she has taught parent-education courses and training in communication and resolution of conflicts.
A member of Phi Beta Kappa and other honoraries, Dorothy Corkille Briggs has worked as a teacher of both children and adults; dean of girls; school psychologist; and marriage, family and child counselor during the last twenty-five years. Since 1958 she has taught parent-education courses and training in communication and resolution of conflicts.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 16, 2012
Hands down the best "parenting" book of its kind. Child-Psychology demystified. Absolutely invaluable and should be read by every parent, parent-to-be, and by anyone who wants to know what goes on in a child's mind and why. Once read, you will never look at, or talk to kids the same way again. You will respect them, understand them, see the world and things in it from their point of view and just generally 'get' them more than you ever did before. It shows how you can help your child to have healthy mind. It teaches the importance of high self-esteem and how having it will effect your child in the best possible ways, now and into adulthood. It's offered me an insight into the minds of my kids and strengthened my bond with them. It would be truly awesome indeed if our kids' teachers would ALL read this; it should be part of their curriculum; It should be required reading in their degrees. Babies don't come with a handbook, but if they handed this out at the door of the maternity ward I'm convinced the world would be a better place.
June 6, 2012
I loved so many of the ideas in this book. The main idea is to help your child feel that they are lovable/worthwhile just because they exist -- that love/worth is not contingent on behavior (good or bad), actions, etc. She stresses allowing your child to have valid thoughts, emotions, feelings, and supporting those things. I had to get it back to the library so I skipped the part about the adolescent years. The only thing I didn't like were her views on sexuality and self esteem. Other than that, I loved it!
September 22, 2024
Muy recomendable. Da muchas claves a la hora de educar a los hijos.
September 4, 2009
This book is a great one to read for any parent. It helps you understand different developmental stages your child goes through -thus giving you tools to help you and them get through those stages smoothly. SAVED MY LIFE WITH A TWO YEAR OLD!
January 21, 2012
I loved this book. It was given to me when I was pregnant with the twins, by a friend who raised 2 amazing children...one who had Downs Syndrome. I've read it several times and love.the message of the book.
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March 1, 2020Excelente em alguns pontos, péssimo em outros, especialmente no último capítulo, sobre sexualidade, bem sexista. Mas com filtro dá pra aproveitar muita coisa sobre o assunto.
January 13, 2024
3'5/5
January 4, 2019
Resumo bem escrito sobre desenvolvimento emocional, com dicas interessantes.
February 12, 2011
Half of this book was interesting and a well written explanation of how self-esteem in children can be built and how important it is. The other half was full of dated views on women/girl's abilities and homophobic ideas relating to sexual identity.
March 9, 2009
the only "How to Raise Your Child" book I ever found invaluable.
November 23, 2025
Great book for parents and for adults Just trying to figure out what happened in their childhood and heal from any trauma or mistreatment they endured. I love how she says Model behavior is not healthy positive behavior and talks about how being good on the outside doesn’t mean the child is healthy. He may just be repressing undesirable emotions. The checklist at the end was perfect for referring back to any parts you need a refresher on. I will use it for years to come! I would definitely recommend this book! I am really glad I read it!!! Quotes I loved: Each pressure you remove gives you time for the person of your child. Each of us needs to ask, does my behavior give priority to things and schedules or to human beings? Empathy is listening with your heart and not with your head. Empathy is more difficult when you believe you should direct and guide children, when you feel you always know best. Before you can accept feelings, you must first be able to hear them. Active listening is hearing the other person’s point of view. It does not involve agreement or disagreement with that view point. Understanding never makes feelings worse; it only gives them permission to be revealed. The more you help him generate his own ideas, the more you foster independence and self-respect. Swamping youngsters with wisdom only makes them resist looking at the open doors you may suggest. If the time spent in empathetic listening seems excessive, consider the hours you spend dealing with negative behavior.
July 27, 2019
While the book is a bit outdated, the overall idea of instilling self-esteem into your children is fundamental to healthy development.
February 5, 2020
Todo pai e toda mãe deveria ler. Dez vezes.
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February 14, 2020El niño feliz.
June 29, 2020
Changed my life.
February 28, 2021
5 estrellas, a pesar de que el último capítulo no ha envejecido muy bien.
October 18, 2022
2.5 stars. I took some nuggets from this but overall it was an okay book.
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January 21, 2023La clave de la felicidad, de la solución posible de los conflictos diarios, es la autoestima,
December 25, 2023
Todas las personas deberían leer este libro al menos una vez en la vida ✨
June 8, 2024
Imprescindible en la crianza
November 18, 2025
Un libro con un montón de claves para uno mismo y sus hijos que creo que son muy valiosas para poner en práctica en todos los aspectos de la vida de uno. Me alegro de haber leído este libro
June 14, 2015
The proof is in the pudding.
When my daughter Julia was 7 years old, I was told by teachers, principal, counselors and social workers that I could never expect her to read above 3rd grade level, and must be prepared to support her all her life.
They also noted, as an aside, that she was remarkably well adjusted for someone with her multiple and complex learning disabilities.
Julia is more than 30 now, graduated cum laude with a B.S., did an internship at Stanford, and is now in a masters degree program.
The strong sense of self, of her innate value, which counselors noted even when her future as an independent adult looked completely out of the question, I credit to the fact that I read this book while Julia was still tumbling around in amniotic fluid.
After I read Your Child's Self Esteem, my primary goal for her was to be sure she had a strong sense of her self and her innate value as a human being--a goal solely and entirely inspired by this book!
Because her self esteem was strong, my daughter attacked the challenges of her life with confidence and implacable determination, and won.
She has become a cheerful, unique, self-referring and self-reliant adult, and I credit her success to two things: the ideas I got from this book, and my daughter's on powerful will and determination, fueled by the confidence Your Child's Self Esteem gave this parent!
While Ms. Briggs, writing back in the 70's, was uninformed and far from politically correct in her discussion of homosexuality (page 144, mentioned in other reviews--I've actually forgotten what was said), I think we're all adult enough to take what she says, remember when she said it, and filter those ideas through our own value systems to make correct choices.
That's a lot of what her book is about, after all!
When my daughter Julia was 7 years old, I was told by teachers, principal, counselors and social workers that I could never expect her to read above 3rd grade level, and must be prepared to support her all her life.
They also noted, as an aside, that she was remarkably well adjusted for someone with her multiple and complex learning disabilities.
Julia is more than 30 now, graduated cum laude with a B.S., did an internship at Stanford, and is now in a masters degree program.
The strong sense of self, of her innate value, which counselors noted even when her future as an independent adult looked completely out of the question, I credit to the fact that I read this book while Julia was still tumbling around in amniotic fluid.
After I read Your Child's Self Esteem, my primary goal for her was to be sure she had a strong sense of her self and her innate value as a human being--a goal solely and entirely inspired by this book!
Because her self esteem was strong, my daughter attacked the challenges of her life with confidence and implacable determination, and won.
She has become a cheerful, unique, self-referring and self-reliant adult, and I credit her success to two things: the ideas I got from this book, and my daughter's on powerful will and determination, fueled by the confidence Your Child's Self Esteem gave this parent!
While Ms. Briggs, writing back in the 70's, was uninformed and far from politically correct in her discussion of homosexuality (page 144, mentioned in other reviews--I've actually forgotten what was said), I think we're all adult enough to take what she says, remember when she said it, and filter those ideas through our own value systems to make correct choices.
That's a lot of what her book is about, after all!
July 4, 2010
I thought the main points of the book were pertinent, and there was a lot of good advice on building self esteem. Particularly helpful sections talked about the things parents do to show love, and how some do, and some do not correspond with whether a child feels loved. It is a very practical book, and I liked that a lot. Many parts rang true both as the parent I am now, and from what I remember from being a child. I really liked the advice on what to do when children are upset or angry, and pointing out that parents rarely act towards upset children the way we would want others to treat us when we're upset, for example.
However, there were some sections that were problematic for me, and seemed particularly out of date. Also, it seemed to me that the author thought that the character and behavior of children depended almost entirely on their upbringing. Though parenting is important (I think it's the most important work there is), I think it's also important to recognize that children bring a lot with them into the world that has very little to do with upbringing. Recognizing both of these factors leads to, I think, a more natural and reasonable way of parenting than emphasizing one and virtually ignoring the other.
However, there were some sections that were problematic for me, and seemed particularly out of date. Also, it seemed to me that the author thought that the character and behavior of children depended almost entirely on their upbringing. Though parenting is important (I think it's the most important work there is), I think it's also important to recognize that children bring a lot with them into the world that has very little to do with upbringing. Recognizing both of these factors leads to, I think, a more natural and reasonable way of parenting than emphasizing one and virtually ignoring the other.
July 27, 2008
As with any book of this nature, one must maintain a very critical attitude. There are some really valuable ideas here, but the majority of the book is not worthwhile. The first two parts of the book are excellent. There are great ideas on how to help your child's self-esteem and how to make sure your child knows that you love him or her. The next 5 sections are barely worthwhile. Much of the psychology is extremely out of date (the book was written in 1975). I think the major ideas of these later sections are sound, but the supporting examples, evidence, and suggestions are often erroneous. I would certainly suggest this book to any parent or parent-to-be who is willing to read it with a very critical eye.
March 23, 2014
This book was recommended by a friend and it has been very helpful with my relationship with my daughter. There is a picture of a baby on the cover but don't let that deter you- the book covers birth to adolescent.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I didn't really like the 2nd part of the book. Like other reviewers said, it has very dated views on homosexuality and sex in general.
The first 1/2 of the book really made me change the way I look at my kids. I always thought I had an open mind and encouraged them to be themselves. But this book made me realize that sub-consciously, I was imparting MY views and interests on them. Accepting my daughter for who she is and what she wants has improved our relationship 100% and has also increased her confidence.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I didn't really like the 2nd part of the book. Like other reviewers said, it has very dated views on homosexuality and sex in general.
The first 1/2 of the book really made me change the way I look at my kids. I always thought I had an open mind and encouraged them to be themselves. But this book made me realize that sub-consciously, I was imparting MY views and interests on them. Accepting my daughter for who she is and what she wants has improved our relationship 100% and has also increased her confidence.
January 7, 2019
Esta é uma boa leitura não apenas para que tem filhos ou pretende ter, mas para todas as pessoas que se interessam por comportamento. É muito interessante ter uma ideia, ainda que vaga, de por que agimos de determinadas formas quando crianças e por que algumas dessas atitudes tem reflexo direto nas nossas ações adultas como, por exemplo, a insegurança.
A educação, os exemplos, a maneira com que fomos conduzidos na infância diz muito sobre o humano que nos tornamos e sobre a autoconfiança que adquirimos.
No livro a autora expressa sua visão de profissional e de mãe.
Ao leitor cabe o discernimento do que vale absorver, refletir e praticar.
A educação, os exemplos, a maneira com que fomos conduzidos na infância diz muito sobre o humano que nos tornamos e sobre a autoconfiança que adquirimos.
No livro a autora expressa sua visão de profissional e de mãe.
Ao leitor cabe o discernimento do que vale absorver, refletir e praticar.
April 1, 2011
I love this book. I think they should send parents home with a copy when they leave the hospital with their newborns instead of a pack of Enfamil. This book really opened my eyes to things I didn't think were that important, but can make a huge difference in your child in the long run. I though I was already a good parent, but everyone could use a little improvement. I'm glad I was recommended this book because it is so helpful! This is my #1 go-to book when I need guidance on discipline and other parenting issues.
July 28, 2011
This book was required reading for a parenting class we had to take when my kids were in co-op preschool. I found it very helpful then as we studied it, and then applied its principles at that time when my kids were at the preschool. As they grew up, I periodically re-read the parts pertinent to their current age. My kids are now grown and married, and have turned out quite well (not just my opinion as their mom, but by many others). After all these years, it still generally has great advice.
July 5, 2016
Rigtig god bog, men lidt kedelig. Man skal virkelig ville den for indholdets skyld, og fordi man har besluttet sig for at lære noget – den læser bestemt ikke sig selv. Den kunne med fordel være peppet op i sproget, have bedre og mere vedkommende cases eller have bare antydningen af humor.
Kan godt genlæses nogle år efter første læsning, da man til den tid har fået nye erfaringer at bygge på og derved vil forstå nogle af afsnittene i bogen bedre.
Kan godt genlæses nogle år efter første læsning, da man til den tid har fået nye erfaringer at bygge på og derved vil forstå nogle af afsnittene i bogen bedre.
February 16, 2011
I appreciated how the author explained how self-esteem develops and how as parents we are capable of providing the right atmosphere to help our children develop high self-esteem. Her examples while sometimes pat are very helpful in illustrating both the do's and don'ts. She has a checklist at the end that I made a copy of to remind myself of things I need to work on improving with my kids.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews