How To Raise A Happy Genius

Please Knock by Erin Dolgan is an interesting and thought-provoking book which contains fifteen brief stories/poems that can serve as the starting points for the types of discussions which every parent should be having with their child in order to keep them safe and prepare them for life in a world where not everyone can necessarily be trusted (including the adults and authority figures that children regularly encounter). Some parents will balk at the very idea of having such discussions, and I can understand why, but that doesn’t mean that they are discussions that don’t need to be had. The stories in Erin Dolgan’s book are set at just the right level to introduce children to a range of child-safety topics without unnecessarily scaring, or scarring, them. These stories are also a great reminder to parents to respect their child’s boundaries, and why this is important.

The stories cover topics such as the need for your child to have some privacy, how to speak to parents about difficult subjects, how a child can find an adult to talk to when they need to talk about a difficult subject, letting children decide what clothes they wear and where they get changed, about the fact that they have the right to decide who hugs and kisses them, the fact that they may see adults in their lives differently to their parents, the fact that adults are not always right and that children should trust their gut feelings about the adults in their lives, why secrets are bad and why parents need to respect their children’s privacy (a particularly important lesson for parents to learn – especially in the modern world where many parents have a tendency to over-share about their kids on social media without thinking about the impact it may be having on them).

Note: This is not the easiest book to track down, as it seems it is no longer in print, but it is worth the effort to do so, although be careful about how much you pay for it as some second-hand dealers seem to have it heavily over-priced in comparison to others.

Basic Book Information: ISBN: 978-0-97-8562823; Date of Publication: December 2006; Number of pages: 34. To purchase in the UK, click here. To purchase in the USA, click here.

What Age Of Child Is It Aimed At? This book is aimed at children aged between about four and ten, and the parents of such children.

How Long Will It Take To Read This Book? This book will only take a few minutes to read, but it’s one that you would probably want to read one story at a time when you have time to also discuss the topic behind the story in more detail.

What I Like About This Book? I like this book because it provides a gentle and non-threatening starting place for discussions on important elements of child safety, and subjects that can be difficult to know where to start. For example, the subject of stranger danger is easy enough to explain, but what about encouraging children to speak up when feeling hurt or at risk from someone they already know and who they may be expected to respect? We all like to think that we’re a good judge of character and that we would be able to spot if someone in our lives represented a danger to our kids, but the unpalatable truth is that we’re not, and children are in much greater danger from people they know, especially authority figures of all kinds, than from complete strangers. Ignoring this fact is not protecting a child’s innocence, it simply puts that child at risk of exploitation. This book can be used to start the type of discussions that we need to be having with our children, while also encouraging adults to help their child develop a strong understanding of their mental, physical and psychological boundaries and why they have a right to demand that these barriers are respected by everyone in their lives. This, in turn, will help protect them from many of the dangers they may face in life, both as a child and as an adult.

What Core Life Skills Will It Help Develop? This book will encourage children to develop strong mental physical and psychological boundaries, and help them understand that they have a right to demand that these barriers are respected by everyone, no matter who they are or what position of authority they are in.

Are There Other Books By The Same Author? As yet, there appear to be no other books by this author.

Links To Purchase This Book

To Purchase In The UK

To Purchase In The USA

About The Author: This post was written by Colin Drysdale, the creator of How To Raise A Happy Genius.

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