Raising Mentally Strong Kids

How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible, and Resilient Children and Young Adults

By: Daniel G. Amen M.D., Charles Fay Ph.D

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Parenting is about to get easier—and a whole lot more effective….

In a time when so many children and young adults seem to be struggling, parents are looking for help in bringing up mentally healthy kids who are equipped to thrive. Finally, evidence-based help is now available for overwhelmed parents who are trying their best but feel like they’re falling short.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and neuropsychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen and child psychologist Dr. Charles Fay have teamed up to reveal what’s missing from most parenting books. It’s the fact that you need to address both the brain and the mind of your child (and yourself) in order to effectively raise good and strong humans.

In this groundbreaking book where neuroscience meets love and logic, parents are given practical tools to help children of all ages go from behavioral problems like defiance, meltdowns, and power struggles to being:

• Responsible, confident, kind, and resilient
• Better prepared to make good decisions
• More focused and motivated
• Better able to have healthy relationships, and more….

Let Dr. Amen and Dr. Fay help you learn how to be the parent you've always dreamed you could be―and raise great kids who are on their way to reaching their full potential, including their best possible mental health.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Daniel G. Amen, M.D. and Charles Fay, Ph.D (P)2024 One Audiobooks

Some good points within an unhelpful delivery

There were several good points throughout this book, especially where the brain science itself is concerned and how maintaining a healthy brain is essential to how we experience and inhabit our lives, both as parents and children. However, so much of the presentation felt overly simplified - most of the personal stories and example applications seemed to be reduced to a “you as a parent do A; your child will do B - and be saved from a life of disaster” equation. The advised approach was often framed more like a switch you can flip as a parent to gain the outcome you want, reducing real life with real kids to a formula, while the outcomes of not doing so often felt inflated and catastrophized (i.e., not having first-time obedience from your child on an instruction such as taking out the trash will result in an incapable adult).

There also seemed to be a fair amount of judgement and condescension in the overall voice that distracted from the practical advice. One moment that stood out was the authors addressing truly serious topics like a child sharing thoughts on peer drug use, etc., and lumping in “ridiculous” requests like wanting to dye their hair blue alongside these issues. As a parent, I believe we do our children as much a disservice when we make small issues big as when we make big issues small; there were several moments like this where the authors’ personal taste seemed to outweigh the data on what are truly areas of concern. Additionally, moments like describing the neighbor of a hardworking single mom as advising the mom with “cigarette hanging out of her mouth” to seek public assistance so she “wouldn’t have to work so hard to take care of her kid” are an extremely insensitive and detrimental characterization of people in general, and single moms in particular, who need assistance as a part of their hard work and struggle to raise and steward their children well.

On top of these moments, the descriptions of showing empathy in each interaction with your children fell absolutely flat, both because of the example wording and the narration. Starting nearly every conversation around a child’s disobedience, disappointment, or struggle with “Oh, that’s sad,” and ending with a version of, “if any kid can figure it out, you can” begins to feel like the old compliment/critique sandwich - more like a script than true engagement. The narrator’s style feels almost like delivery of lines in an old film - overly dramatic in both tone and pacing.

All of these factors made the tone of this book, despite its good moments, feel like it was written many years ago rather than being a new release. There’s so much incredible brain science that’s been pioneered in the last several years; focusing on how truly taking care of our brains to build minds and bodies that equip our children for the best future possible, absent of all of these other inclusions that really prevent the takeaway of much of that brain health message, would make this book a much more valuable resource.

the right wrong way

must listen book of the month, I need more content on this caliper to get ready.

Doable suggestions

The book referenced an attached PDF but it isn’t available in audible.

Enjoyed listening and now i have another book to recommend to parents.

Easy to understand, EVERY parent and grandparent should read/listen, no matter the ages of their children!

Well written, easy to understand and follow, gives parents great tools and strategies for talking to kids of any age in a way that will help them grow.

Loved it

So many good ideas to try and be a better parent. Love all the examples. I’ll listen to it again

EXCELLENT

Teaches so much yourself, it was a great book to read. Suggested by the Ed Mylett show.