Ready or Not

November 4, 2019
Psychologist Levine (Teach Your Children Well) offers a practical, wise manual aimed at helping anxious parents with their often equally anxious kids. According to her, overprotective parenting commonly leads to two problems: “accumulated disability,” or “the impairment of life skills,” in kids, and “learned helplessness,” the “belief that you are powerless to change your circumstances.” With empathy, Levine explores the valid anxiety parents and children feel about facing a “world of disconcerting unpredictability and upheaval” and lays out the “foundational” skills children need to develop: critical thinking, curiosity, creativity, flexibility, educated risk-taking, collaboration, perseverance, self-regulation, and the “ultimate life skills: hope and optimism.” Levine also emphasizes the ability to thrive amid uncertainty, illustrated with stories of people who have evinced this skill, both famous—Steve Jobs, who survived being fired from his own company—and not—a medical technician who fled her native South Vietnam at age 15. While the issues raised are relatively familiar, Levine pulls together a solid set of recommendations for dealing with them. Plenty of parents will benefit from her treatise on how to prepare children for an uncertain future.

November 15, 2019
Why young adults are not ready for adulthood and what parents can do to help prepare them. Political unrest, rapid technological advances, massive shifts in demographics, and climate change: These and many other factors mean that we live in remarkably unpredictable times, which has caused significant spikes in anxiety for both parents and teens. In her latest book, clinician and consultant Levine (Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success, 2012, etc.) shows parents how to address these concerns so that their children can have a "hopeful future they will both inherit and invent." Because parents feel immense pressure to ensure a stable future for their child--good education, reliable employment, etc.--they often do too much, micromanaging every moment of their child's life, which usually hinders the child's ability to learn, experiment, and function on their own. "If our children are to thrive in a world that is rapidly evolving and full of uncertainty, they need less structure and more play," writes the author. "They need to become comfortable with experimentation, risk-taking, and trial-and-error learning. Shielding them from failure is counterproductive. Our kids need to spend less time burnishing their resumes and more time exploring and reflecting." Bolstering her arguments with research statistics and case studies, Levine offers readers a concrete review of what is working and, more importantly, what is not working for parents and young adults. She analyzes the paralyzing effects of excessive stress and depression, suggests age-appropriate responsibilities for children as young as toddlers (put toys away, for example), and encourages parents to step back and try to refrain from engaging in helicopter parenting. Despite the author's conversational tone, she imparts a strong and convincing message: Parents must let their children develop their independence in order to greet their futures with confidence and the skills necessary to survive. Rock-solid advice for harried parents in a world that shows no signs of slowing down.

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Starred review from March 1, 2020

Levine (The Price of Privilege) notes that anxiety is the number one diagnosed mental health disorder for both adults and children. Anxiety affects our children's ability to thrive mentally and emotionally in a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Moreover, actions and decisions stemming from our own anxiety keep children from experiencing adversity that, channeled properly, can result in character growth and the ability to face challenges in their adult years. Maintaining a goal of growth rather than a fixed mind-set is necessary to help kids during their formative years, when the brain is developing and their thinking is flexible. Levine argues that soft skills, data analysis, and critical thinking will move our children forward in an unpredictable world, and that focusing too heavily on grades and performance only furthers a child's struggles to get ahead. VERDICT Backed by extensive research from entrepreneurs, military leaders, scientists, and academics, Levine's latest is a must-read for parents, teachers, and all who work with children and are concerned about their future.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2019
Bestselling author and renowned clinician Levine (Teach Your Children Well, 2012) here takes a close look at how anxiety affects parental decision-making and child development. As she states, It's tough to make plans when we don't know what we're planning for. Ready or Not addresses this challenge with thoughtful, relevant guidance. Levine begins by cautioning readers of learned-helplessness and delayed adolescence and continues with advising parents on how to change course. She focuses on the academic and foundational skills needed by today's students, such as critical thinking, curiosity, flexibility, collaboration, and perseverance. Hope and optimism, she confirms, are ultimate life skills, and a squiggly path to success is often better than the traditional route of past generations. Levine encourages families to build ethics and a moral compass at home, to find community and become engaged in activism. With thorough research backing her up, Levine delivers advice with intelligence and compassion, but also with realistic expectations of what it's like to parent as well as grow up in today's world. Best of all, she masterfully balances this realism with positivity. Another invaluable resource from Levine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)