The Kindness Advantage
Cultivating Compassionate and Connected Children
by Dale Atkins; Amanda Salzhauer
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Sep 11 2018 | Archive Date Sep 28 2020
HCI Books | HCI
Talking about this book? Use #TheKindnessAdvantage #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
In homes and school communities nationwide, there is re-energized interest in the values of community, compassion, and tolerance, and in finding our way to a kinder culture—a culture that starts with our families. Headlines speak of hate crimes, intolerance, and us-versus-them divisiveness.
Recent political events have left many Americans yearning for unity, respect, and compassion in our national discourse. In our schools, bullying continues to be a pervasive problem, and in our homes, "screen-time" poses a constant threat to 'family time.' Research shows that connection and social engagement are key to successful, fulfilling lives, and yet we have never been less connected than we are now.
Perhaps more than any other group, parents recognize the potential damage of this trend. Children who are raised in a culture where giving and compassion are valued become happier and more positively engaged with those around them. They are less likely to treat others disrespectfully. With increased concern about meanness and bullying, you may be among the many parents who see the need for more civil, respectful, and considerate behavior among our children.
The Kindness Advantage is a practical and concrete guide for you to equip your child with the skills they need to have a positive influence on the world. We all benefit when children are raised with the understanding that they can have an impact by making conscious choices. It's never too early to start your child on a path of fulfillment through meaningful connection with others. Designed to be read with children as young as four, the book presents ten fundamental concepts to weave into your family's daily life. Using text, quotes, questions and real life stories, The Kindness Advantage is the first book parents need to think about and teach the necessary skills to be a kind, compassionate person. Each idea on its own is simple and unintimidating, yet together they form the powerful foundation parents need to go beyond teaching "please" and "thank-you" to form kindness habits that will last a lifetime. In a world where kindness is so greatly needed,
The Kindness Advantage offers inspiration and activities to teach kids empathy, inspire a culture of compassion and connection, and empower children to make a difference in their community and the world.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“In this day and age, kindness and connection are especially important. An accessible and informative guide, The Kindness Advantage is a must read for parents of all ages.”
Judson Brewer MD PhD, author of The Craving Mind: From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits.
Dale Atkins and Amanda Salzhauer’s book, the Kindness Advantage, can serve as a partial antidote to these turbulent times. They remind us that kindness is both a moral behavior that can improve the status of the world, but also be advantageous to the individual who practices kindness. The book’s blend of significant and relevant issues in psychology, education, and humanism provides a myriad of practical suggestions to help us raise kind children. The book will serve as a resource to parents and educators. By teaching the components underlying kindness children can be provided a framework where we can both teach and weave these crucial lessons into the lives of children.
The section on relaxation, breathing, visualization and mediation is a gift to the children in our lives and ourselves. We cannot impart the lessons of kindness when we ourselves are agitated and distressed by the tumult in our lives and in our worlds. Likewise, children have difficulty being kind when they are in the grip of negative emotions. This section provides children and adults the tools to master negative emotions. We highly recommend this book to be read, saved and used as a long term resource in your child rearing library.
Norma D. Feshbach, Ph.D. Professor, Chair, Interim Dean Emeritus UCLA.
Laura E. Feshbach, Ph.D. in Child Clinical Psychology from University of Washington lfeshbach@harmatta.com
"The Kindness Advantage is the perfect book. Building on scientific evidence about developing aspects of kindness, such as empathy, it gives clear, practical advice to parents and suggests engaging activities and stories for children. Nothing could be more important today than increasing compassion and decreasing polarization and acrimony. I am going to give this book to my son who has a young daughter.”
Dr. Susan Fuhrman
President Emerita, Teachers College Columbia University
"In times of discord and polarization, kindness is a family value that can often be overlooked and underestimated. But, in truth, few parental responsibilities carry more weight -- and bring more joy -- than teaching children the power of flexing their own kindness muscles. Steeped in research and brimming with practical tips, The Kindness Advantage provides parents with a blueprint for nurturing empathy in young children, while offering real-life stories that both instruct and inspire. This is a thoughtful guidebook for parents, caregivers, and any adults looking to help build happiness, raise good citizens, and create harmonious communities."
Myung Lee, Executive Director of Fund for Cities of Service
“The Kindness Advantage by Dale Atkins, PhD, and Amanda Salzhauer, MSW is exactly what we need more of right now. With empowering examples and science-based truths, Dale and Amanda share what it takes to foster kindness, empathy, compassion, and heart in our families. Parents will learn how to take on social questions and connect in a way that will improve the lives of their children and help create a more nurturing world. Highly recommended!”
Amy McCready
Author and Founder, Positive Parenting Solutions
“This enormously insightful book provides an inspiring and fundamental blueprint on how kindness can and should be taught to children. It provides essential ways to have conversations with your children on how to be kind. The Kindness Advantage reinforces how considerate and kind behavior can be life-changing and life lasting for children to help make the world a better place.”
Laura Schroff, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of An Invisible Thread
“The Kindness Advantage is the ray of hope that we all need in this harsh, heavy, world. It is a blueprint of how to partner with the next generation to live our inherent values, to tap our organic ability to love, and to create a kinder culture. Many thanks to Dale Atkins and Amanda Salzhauer for bringing this much-needed gift to the world!”
Rev. Susan Sparks,Pastor, Comedian, and Author of Laugh Your Way to Grace
“As a physician who uses mindfulness practices extensively in working with patients, health care professionals, and people dealing with all varieties of stress, I love that this book incorporates those practices into a guide for parents who are teaching their children to be kind. The authors wisely lead with the evidence that kindness leads to greater happiness, meaning, and wellbeing, and then provide a myriad of inspirational examples and ideas for children and parents. Grandparents, who are often crucial inspirational figures in children's lives, may particularly benefit from ideas for intergenerational collaborations in kindness.”
Patricia A. Bloom, MD
Certified Teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Clinical Associate Professor of Geriatrics, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
“With optimism and compassion, The Kindness Advantage offers practical tips and real-world examples parents and educators need to teach empathy, compassion, and kindness to our children. Along the way, it also provides opportunities to reflect on our values and experiences as adults. This book speaks to the innate desire of every child to be good to themselves and those around them. Dale Atkins and Amanda Salzhauer make the case for kindness as the tool to radically transform our children’s lives, and our own.”
Naila Bolus, President & CEO, Jumpstart
“Just like we see in kids who have the empathy advantage, children who are raised with the kindness advantage are happier, connected, compassionate, and will have what they need to become changemakers in their world. The Kindness Advantage offers parents the tools to teach these skills and more to their young children. With the extensive examples of activities provided in the The Kindness Advantage, parents can pick and choose what resonates with them to create a personalized approach to bringing kindness into their everyday lives.”
Michele Borba, Ed.D., author of UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World
micheleborba.com
Marketing Plan
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780757320996 |
| PRICE | $12.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 168 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Kate Z, Reviewer
Wonderful book that teaches parents how to raise kind and empathetic children. So many of today's problems would be solved if people could just be kind. You don't have to always sure with people or like what they do to be nice. This book teaches that concept well and helps brainstorm ways for kids to serve while young and create life habits of serving and being kind to others.
I'm excited to utilize the knowledge learned in this book to help teach my children!
Angela H, Reviewer
Everyone needs kindness in their lives. Especially our children. This book is a delight to read and helps you develop strategies to bring kindness and mindfulness into your child's life. From little every day ways to help your fellow person, to how to bring about change and bolster kindness in others, this book covers it all. It has made me think about my impact on this world, more than once, and has given me hope that my child might grow up to make such an impact. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to bring about positive change in the lives that you mold every day.
Susan A, Educator
Considering our own behaviour, as adults, is something that readers will have to engage in if they are to maximise their growth as a result of engaging in this way of communicating with children. Sprinkled with real-life stories of children and how their acts of kindness, which required them to be cognizant of others, could positively impact on their peers. A must read for parents and educators who want to further the positive impact they can have.
Educator 493397
Wonderful book that stresses the importance of social emotional learning in children. With specific emphasis on kindness and mindfulness, the authors provided a plethora of examples and strategies for parents, teachers, and children. This can easily be incorporated into school curriculum
Media/Journalist 16509
This is a short, helpful book for parents of young children to help them raise children who are kind, compassionate and giving. While a bit slow to start, it goes on to give lots of helpful advice for subjects like:
How to answer difficult questions or respond to seemingly rude behavior like staring at a stranger with a disability.
How to model kindness and encourage kids to act kindly towards others.
How to teach children self care and mindfulness.
How to encourage children to embrace diversity and not to be afraid of differences.
How to find places to volunteer together (with very helpful lists of types of organizations and questions to ask to pick the right opportunities).
LOTS of examples of real life kids who made pretty amazing differences in the world through charitable activities they started as a response to seeing a need or feeling empathy.
Troubleshooting when kids are not being kind, ask tough questions, etc.
A lot of this seemed like common sense to me and is stuff that I have always done while raising my five children. That said, there were lots of good answers for some of those tricky situations where parents may not know the best way to respond.
A journal section is provided at the end to help parents think through the sections and to choose volunteer sections. This section was a little dull for me, to be honest. I prefer workbook areas that are a little more creative and fun, but others might find it helpful. Also, the fonts were sometimes clashing and the quote font was difficult to read (all caps and slanted), which was a shame since they seemed to be inspirational quotes but I just couldn't make myself read the longer ones.
There is also a great reading list at the end for picture books, books for parents, and a few books for teens about the subject. There are some recommended apps and other resources, too.
All in all, this would make a great book for parents of young children, teachers, day care providers and libraries, especially if they are struggling with the subject.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
Bridgett O, Reviewer
This was an interesting book. I thought the information presented was well laid out and flowed well. I really enjoyed reading it and want to try and start implementing some of what I read.
Claire R, Reviewer
This book provided a lot of good examples on how we as adults can display compassion for others and teaches you that our children learn by our behavior. There are some great suggestions on how to get your children involved in the community and how to give back to others.
Kaitlin Y, Reviewer
This is a great, relatively short book on teaching kids how to be kind. A lot of the books core concepts Ive luckily already been encorporating into my parenting. My son is exposed to a great variety of people and experiences. Hes already doing a great job of being a kind human being, but this gave me a lot of new ideas and ways to encourage his already kind nature. I love the idea of instilling a sense of volunteerism in kids, whether by bringing kids along to volunteer opportunities or showing them pictures. My child has already had various experiences in volunteering, and I think that its an enrichment to his life. As a New Years resolution, next year, we want to go volunteer at a shelter regularly.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
