The Success Trap

“In The Success Trap, Stuart Slavin … provides a practical, evidence-based way to break the cycle by building resilience and giving kids more control, choice, and purpose, without sacrificing ambition.”—Jennifer Breheny Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of Never Enough and Mattering

“I recommend the book to all parents, educators, and anyone else concerned with the mental wellbeing of young people, kindergarten through graduate or medical school.”—Peter Gray, expert in childhood learning and author of Free to Learn

“Read it, share it, and let it change the way we support our youth on the challenging journey of staying grounded, connected, and inspired in their lives.”—Daniel J. Siegel, New York Times bestselling author, Brainstorm, Mind and Mindsight

“The Success Trap is a refreshing, necessary look at the reality of raising a child in today’s success-driven, pressure-cooker society. Realistic, compassionate, and highly actionable, this book has the answers you’ve been looking for.”—Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author, How to Raise an Adult

“In The Success Trap, Dr. Stuart Slavin offers a nuanced, educated take on the false idols of toxic achievement and offers actionable, practical ways for both parents and kids to shift their thinking toward a more positive, healthy understanding of lifelong accomplishment and fulfillment.”—Jessica Lahey, New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation

“Stuart Slavin brings a powerful combination of clinical expertise and humane wisdom to bear on one of the deepest problems of our time. The Success Trap is a remarkable combination of social criticism and self-help—at once profound and useful.”—Daniel Markovits, author of The Meritocracy Trap

“The Success Trap offers a blueprint—effective, economical, and actionable—for student success and well-being.”—Ned Johnson, Coauthor of The Self-Driven Child and host of The Self-Driven Child Podcast

“Dr. Slavin provides both a compelling account of the causes of distress among today’s youth and practical pathways for fostering their well-being. Backed by solid research, he illuminates the pressures of our achievement-focused culture and offers realistic, evidence-based solutions.”—William R. Stixrud, Coauthor of The Self-Driven Child and founder of The Stixrud Group

“The Success Trap provides the case and a roadmap for helping kids to thrive and ultimately experience deeper success.”—Christine Moutier, CMO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

“The Success Trap is rigorous, urgent, and deeply practical, the road map every parent, educator, and school leader has been waiting for.”—Vicki Abeles, New York Times bestselling author of Beyond Measure

“This is an essential guide for parents and educators who want to create environments in which young people can truly learn, thrive, and find meaning.”—Richard M. Ryan, McKillop distinguished professor, Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, co-developer of self-determination theory

“We’ve known for a long time that achievement pressure is harming our teens. The question is, what can we do about it? The Success Trap offers answers: a thorough, compassionate, step-by-step approach for parents to follow to help them understand what’s going on with their kids and how to help them through it.”—William Deresiewicz, New York Times bestselling author of Excellent Sheep

“In this smart debut study… Slavin balances his broader critique of achievement culture with practical advice for parents, urging them to respond constructively to setbacks such as college rejections by allowing space for grief and helping children identify alternative paths. Parents and educators will find this a crucial resource for assisting today’s teens.”—Publishers Weekly

Stuart Slavin, MD, MEd

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