The Orchid and the dandelion : why some children struggle and how all can thrive / W. Thomas Boyce, MD.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boyce, W. Thomas, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parenting.

Developmental psychology.

Physical Description:

xviii, 277 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2019.

Summary:

"From one of the world's foremost researchers and pioneers of pediatric health--a book that offers hope and a pathway to success for parents, teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and child development experts coping with 'difficult' children, fully exploring the author's revolutionary discovery about childhood development, parenting, and the key to helping all children find happiness and success. 'Based on groundbreaking research that has the power to change the lives of countless children--and the adults who love them.'--Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts. In Tom Boyce's extraordinary new book, he explores the 'dandelion' child (hardy, resilient, healthy), able to survive and flourish under most circumstances, and the 'orchid' child (sensitive, susceptible, fragile), who, given the right support, can thrive as much as, if not more than, other children. Boyce writes of his pathfinding research as a developmental pediatrician working with troubled children in child-development research for almost four decades, and explores his major discovery that reveals how genetic make-up and environment shape behavior. He writes that certain variant genes can increase a person's susceptibility to depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and antisocial, sociopathic, or violent behaviors. But rather than seeing this 'risk' gene as a liability, Boyce, through his daring research, has recast the way we think of human frailty, and has shown that while these 'bad' genes can create problems, they can also, in the right setting and the right environment, result in producing children who not only do better than before but far exceed their peers. Orchid children, Boyce makes clear, are not failed dandelions; they are a different category of child, with special sensitivities and strengths, and need to be nurtured and taught in special ways. And in The Orchid and the Dandelion, Boyce shows us how to understand these children for their unique sensibilities, their considerable challenges, their remarkable gifts"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introductory notes by Robert Coles

Foreword by T. Berry Brazelton

Introduction

A tale of two children

The noise and the music

Lemon juice, fire alarms, and an unanticipated discovery

An orchestration of orchids and dandelions

Where do orchids (and dandelions) come from?

No two children are raised in the same family

The kindness and cruelty of children

Sowing and tilling the gardens of childhood

The arc of life for orchids and dandelions

The sins of the fathers, the means of grace

Conclusion: helping all children thrive

Coda: an eden rendered whole, the orchid and the dandelion.

Notes:

"A Borzoi book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781101946565

1101946563

OCLC:

1015815618