Book Review: When Your Kid Is Hurting

From the Back:

No parent likes to see their child in pain.
But you can navigate even negative events with less drama, more resilience, and a positive attitude.Life isn't always predictable or safe, and today's kids live in an increasingly unstable world. Being bombarded by headlines highlighting school shootings, bullying, and ethnic violence is only the start. Add on peer pressure, a friend's betrayal, nasty jabs on social media, and being stuck in the middle of a divorce, and it's no wonder kids of all ages are facing significant trauma.

In When Your Kid Is Hurting, internationally known psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Kevin Leman offers practical, time-tested strategies to best help hurting kids, including

· what to say (and not say) when bad things happen
· how to get a hurting kid to talk to you
· when to intervene and when to let your child problem-solve
· how to turn trauma into teachable moments rather than fostering a victim mentality
· understanding the three greatest fears every kid has . . . and the biggest antidotes
· how being proactive can turn difficult situations around and provide future protection
· why the words you choose to use with your child are critical to their recovery

You can help your child get up after being knocked down. When Your Kid Is Hurting will help you not only be your child's best advocate in a healthy way but also reveal secrets for strengthening your lifelong relationship.

My Reflections:

Kevin Leman's newest parenting book was not quite what I was expecting. This book is geared for parents trying to support the next generation to a successful, happy life. Our world is changing faster than ever, our kids are experiencing things we never had to deal with, which leaves me often scrambling trying to support the emotional and mental fallout. 

Hard experiences are an everyday battle we all face, and children are just that more vulnerable to the backlash of hurt and rejection. Kids can't escape from the pressure these days, with social media, net addiction and the ever constant connectedness kids don't get the same reprieve we did growing up. Faith, love, safety, understanding and acceptance are the scaffolding we all need. Sadly our children are often lacking on one or more of these essentials.

I found many very helpful topics in this book, after all, Kevin Leman is one of the leading Christian authours parents default to. However, I had to disagree with a few aspects of this book. I expected Leman to teach from a Christian worldview, however, this book seems to have a secular bent. I know our children face issues like gender identity, and adolescent pregnancy and many others, however, I expected Leman to address issues with a Christian perspective. This was not the case. I understand writing to all audiences but I was hoping for substance, good hard questions to be answered in a biblically sound manner. This was not my experience.

That being said I did glean much from the book, I found it to be a good refresher on parenting, and especially enjoyed Chapter five Getting behind your child's eyes, very thought-provoking.

In closing, though I didn't feel this parenting book lived up to the Christian standards I adhere to, and I will not be recommending it to my friends and readers. Some readers may find the topics enlightening and disagree with my opinions, as they are solely my own.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Dr. Kevin Leman

Dr. Kevin Leman is an internationally known psychologist, radio and television personality, and speaker who has taught and entertained audiences worldwide with his wit and commonsense psychology. He has made house calls for hundreds of radio and television...

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