Book Review: Raising Kids To Thrive

Raising Kids To Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust.

By Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MS ED, FAAP

Co-written by Ilana Ginsburg and Talia Ginsburg

published by the American Academy of Pediatrics

As the mother of four girls, along with my professional background as a therapist, I am far from in the dark about the issues I will be facing when my kids become TEENS. The "dreaded" teen years. They have a reputation, for sure. How many of us go into it thinking: If we just hold our breath, cross our fingers and react to whatever comes, maybe we'll get lucky? That philosophy (or lack thereof) puts us in the position of being reactive instead of proactive. Like we are just waiting to see if something explodes and then we'll scramble to pick up the pieces and make reparations. Instead, can we try to lay the groundwork for future success while our kids are still young, impressionable and *ahem* care about what we think? Can we give ourselves, as parents, and our children the resources and communication tools necessary to navigate the dicey waters of adolescence? In doing so, will it help our children not only survive but thrive?

Dr. Ken Ginsburg thinks so, and I am inclined to agree whole heartedly. While I am busy agreeing, he is busy practicing what he preaches and writing it all down for us parents. His newest book, Raising Kids To Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust has just been released and I was honored to receive one of the first copies to review.

"Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience. 

You are raising a human being." 

~ Kitty Franz

Parenting isn't just about getting through the morning or navigating the day. Parenthood is about investing our time, treasures and talents into the greatest gift we will leave this world. That gift is another human being. A human being who will spend more time as an adult than they will as a child. In the time that you have them under your wing, under your roof, and looking to you for guidance— use it. Use it well. Use it responsibly. Make your parenting purposeful. Because they will be an adolescent out there in the world, and you want them to thrive. Because they will be adults, working and playing in the community and raising the next generation of grown-ups. You want them to be resilient. You want them to thrive.

Raising Kids To Thrive is co-written by award-winning author and pediatrician Kenneth R. Ginsburg along with his two teen daughters, Ilana and Talia. This ground-breaking book delves deep into the important issues faced by all parents of teenagers and provides parents with a road map, a tool belt, a new lens through which to examine our role as parents. Whether you are the parent of toddlers "looking ahead," the parent of pre-teens standing on the precipice or the parent of full blown teenagers looking to connect more deeply during adolescence, this book is for you.

Dr. Ginsburg is an expert, most known for teaching kids about resiliency and helping parents teach the same. Yet, parents continue to struggle with two seemingly contradictory ideas - giving their children and adolescents the unconditional love they need in order to thrive while also holding them to high expectations. Dr. Ginsburg helps us navigate through these questions, concerns, and the dissonance created. He offers easy to understand, practical advice, strategies and related insights.

Some of the topics in this book include unconditional love, setting moral standards, setting expectations that promote success, interdependence, and preparing your child for a stressful world. Some of my favorite chapters were Protection Versus Preparation and The Upside of Failure. His book addresses the hot parenting topics today, like the problems with helicopter or "tiger" parenting. His positive message is focused on relationship building with our children, giving them roots to grow and wings to fly.

What makes this book truly unique is that Dr. Ginsburg takes his vast experience and combines it with input from his two teenage daughters along with 500 other teen voices. This adds such authenticity to the book. Some of the quotes from these teens resonated so deeply with me. It was that emotional connection that helped me digest this book and remember its powerful messages.

Raising Kids To Thrive is packed with easy to understand language and concepts, step by step guides, and sound advice based on sound theory. It's a refreshing, unique and positive approach to parenting a teen in today's challenging landscape.

About The Author

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD is a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and practices Adolescent Medicine at the world-reknowned Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He also serves Philadelphia's homeless and marginalized youth as the Director of Health Services at Covenant House Pennsylvania.


Raising Kids To Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust is available now at Amazon and on shop.AAP.org/books.

*Disclosure: Compensation was received for the honest (not positive, just honest) review of this book. In no way were my opinions swayed by this agreement. As always, I only review books, products and merchandise I believe would be beneficial to my readers.