How Children Succeed

Why character, confidence, and curiosity are more important to your child's success than academic results. The New York Times bestseller. For all fans of Oliver James or Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys, Raising Girls, and The Complete Secrets of Happy Children.Why character, confidence, and curiosity are more important to your child's success than academic results. The New York Times bestseller. For all fans of Oliver James or Steve Biddulph's Raising Boys, Raising Girls, and The Complete Secrets of Happy Children.In a world where academic success can seem all-important in deciding our children's success in adult life, Paul Tough sees things very differently.Instead of fixating on grades and exams, he argues that we, as parents, should be paying more attention to our children's characters.Inner resilience, a sense of curiosity, the hidden power of confidence - these are the most important things we can teach our children, because it is these qualities that will enable them to live happy, fulfilled and successful lives.In this personal, thought-provoking and timely book, Paul Tough offers a clarion call to parents who are seeking to unlock their child's true potential - and ensure they really succeed.

“I wish I could take this compact, powerful, clear-eyed, beautifully written book and put it in the hands of every parent, teacher and politician. At its core is a notion that is electrifying in its originality and its optimism: that character - not cognition - is central to success, and that character can be taught. How Children Succeed will change the way you think about children. But more than that: it will fill you with a sense of what could be.”

I wish I could take this compact, powerful, clear-eyed, beautifully written book and put it in the hands of every parent, teacher and politician. At its core is a notion that is electrifying in its originality and its optimism: that character – not cognition – is central to success, and that character can be taught. How Children Succeed will change the way you think about children. But more than that: it will fill you with a sense of what could be. -- Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here
Every parent should read this book – and every policymaker, too. -- Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
A timely and essential message … a brilliantly readable account of the growing evidence that inner resources count more than any amount of extra teaching support or after-school programmes when it comes to overcoming education disadvantage Independent
Absorbing and important. New York Times

Paul Tough is a contributing writer to New York Times Magazine, where he has written extensively about education, parenting, poverty, and politics, including cover stories on character education, the achievement gap, the post-Katrina school system in New Orleans, the 'No Child Left Behind' policy and charter schools. He has also been a contributor to This American Life, as part of which he reported on the Harlem Children Zone's 'Baby College', an 8-week program where young parents learn how to help their children become successful. His book about the Harlem's Children Zone is called Whatever It Takes. He lives in New York with his wife and his young son.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.