Consumer Critique: Growing Happy Kids

I was offered a chance to review Growing Happy Kids: How to Foster Inner Confidence, Success, and Happiness - incorporating Eastern wisdom and Western philosophy to keep children strong from the inside out.

This book was an interesting - and easy - read. It boasted plenty of real-life examples, both of exceptional or extreme situations (shooting victims, kids placed in foster care) and very normal, run-of-the-mill experiences that most kids face, like bullying. It was also very clear, with "takeaways" clearly described after several situations, and confidence-boosting exercises throughout the book.

The premise of the book was that inner confidence is often lacking in kids, and that by building that up, we can make kids less reliant on external success factors for their happiness - a very good goal, since external factors aren't guaranteed. It also clearly indicates spirituality as one of the key building blocks, but draws on so many faith traditions that it's clear she's not necessarily pushing any particular religion, just that there's some sort of spiritual belief to help ground kids.

This book would be great for anyone who has kids that seem to lack inner self-confidence, or those with younger kids that want some tips on fostering inner confidence in their kids from early on.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-version of the book to facilitate this review.