A fresh, powerful and practical guide to help concerned parents set appropriate limits on their children while still giving them the opportunity to experience those rites of passage that will allow them to become happy, competent adults.
In this well thought-out and lucid book, Michael Ungar makes a compelling case for us to stop bubble-wrapping our children. Healthy risk-taking is a crucial component of identity formation and Ungar provides a much-needed guide for parents looking to find the right balance between healthy risks and harmful ones.' - Michael Carr-Gregg, adolescent psychologist and author of The Princess Bitchface Syndrome
Ungar's thought-provoking book is both wise and practical. All of us parents, therapists and educators who work with adolescents will benefit from his ideas on what teenagers require for optimal growth. This is a paradigm-shifting book.' - Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia
While our kids are safer now than they have ever been, we are constantly fearful for them. We drive them everywhere, organise their time, and cocoon them from every imaginable danger, assuming we're doing the right thing. Even when they are teenagers we continue to manage their lives. Without intending to, we may be holding back their development.
In this ground-breaking new book, internationally renowned family therapist and social worker Michael Ungar shows why our constant need to keep our kids safe often puts them in harm's way. By protecting them from failure and disappointment, challenge and responsibility, many of our children are missing out on the benefits that come with manageable amounts of risk.
Accessible, inspiring and practical, Too Safe For Their Own Good helps concerned parents set appropriate limits and provides concrete suggestions for allowing children the chance to experience the rites of passage that will help them become competent, happy, thriving adults.
About Michael Ungar
Michael Ungar, Ph.D., has worked for over twenty years as a Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist with children and families in child welfare, mental health, education and correctional settings. Now a Professor at the School of Social Work, at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, Dr. Ungar is an internationally recognised researcher on the subject of resilience, and leads a team that spans eleven countries on five continents. He is also the author of five previous books for parents, educators and helping professionals. In addition to his research and writing interests, Dr. Ungar maintains a small family therapy practice for troubled youth and their families. He also served on the Nova Scotia Association of Social Workers Registration Board from 2002-2006. He lives in Halifax with his partner and their two teenaged children.