Elevate Recommended Books

book cover of How to Raise an Adult
  • Whole Child Parenting
How To Raise An Adult
Julie Lythcott-Haims

A provocative manifesto that exposes the harms of helicopter parenting and sets forth an alternate philosophy for raising preteens and teens to self-sufficient young adulthood

In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research, on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Lythcott-Haims offers practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success.

Relevant to parents of toddlers as well as of twentysomethings--and of special value to parents of teens--this book is a rallying cry for those who wish to ensure that the next generation can take charge of their own lives with competence and confidence.

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Book cover for Free-Range Kids
  • Whole Child Parenting
Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children
Lenore Skenazy

FREE RANGE KIDS has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy's piece about allowing her 9-year-old ride the subway alone in NYC. Parent groups argued about it, bloggers, blogged, spouses became uncivil with each other, and the media jumped all over it. A lot of parents today, Skenazy says, see no difference between letting their kids walk to school and letting them walk through a firing range. Any risk is seen as too much risk. But if you try to prevent every possible danger or difficult in your child's everyday life, that child never gets a chance to grow up. We parents have to realize that the greatest risk of all just might be trying to raise a child who never encounters choice or independence.

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Book cover for Can I Kiss You?
  • Relationships
Can I Kiss You?
Michael J. Domitrz

Can I Kiss You? is an in-depth look at the realities of relationships and sexual intimacy. While most people simply “make their move” with a partner, Mike Domitrz reveals why asking first makes all the difference. Domitrz’s candid advice, real-life scenarios, and helpful strategies will revolutionize your approach to relationships while adding romance and building respect for all partners. 

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Thrive: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution
  • Whole Child Parenting
Thrive: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution
Grant Lichtman

Our rapidly evolving world is dramatically impacting how we view schools. Fortunately, we have the knowledge to not only survive, but thrive during rapid change. Organizations have faced these evolutionary disruptions for centuries. Thrive: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution translates this knowledge for educators. Written by Grant Lichtman, a thought leader on the transformation of education, this book will help administrators understand:
• The most important concepts in creating long-term success: value, strategy, and innovation 
• The Five Big Tools of strategic change, to build both a comfort and capacity for change  
• The reality of competing in an evolving marketplace 

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Parenting the Whole Child
  • Whole Child Parenting
Parenting the Whole Child
Scott M. Shannon

Complementing his book for professionals, here Scott Shannon equips parents and caregivers with a better way to understand the mental health challenges their children face, including how cutting-edge scientific concepts like epigenetics and neuroplasticity mean new hope for overcoming them. Readers learn how the most common stressors in kids—inadequate nutrition, unaddressed trauma, learning problems, family relationships, and more—are often at the root of behavioral and emotional issues, and what steps can be taken to restore health and wholeness, without immediately turning to medication.

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How To Raise A Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men
  • Whole Child Parenting
How To Raise A Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men
Michael C. Reichert

Over the past two decades there has been an explosion of new studies that have expanded our knowledge of how boys think and feel. In How to Raise a Boy, psychologist Michael Reichert draws on his decades of research to challenge age-old conventions about how boys become men.

Reichert explains how the paradigms about boys needing to be stoic and "man like" can actually cause them to shut down, leading to anger, isolation, and disrespectful or even destructive behaviors. The key to changing the culture lies in how parents, educators, and mentors help boys develop socially and emotionally. 

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The 5 Love Languages of Children
  • Whole Child Parenting
The 5 Love Languages of Children
Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell

You know you love your child. But how can you make sure your child knows it?

The #1 New York Times bestselling The 5 Love Languages® has helped millions of couples learn the secret to building a love that lasts. Now discover how to speak your child’s love language in a way that he or she understands. Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell help you:

  • Discover your child’s love language
  • Assist your child in successful learning
  • Use the love languages to correct and discipline more effectively
  • Build a foundation of unconditional love for your child

Plus: Find dozens of tips for practical ways to speak your child’s love language.

Discover your child's primary language—then speak it—and you will be well on your way to a stronger relationship with your flourishing child.

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The Power of Habit
  • Whole Child Parenting
The Power of Habit
Charles Duhigg

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. As Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

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Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
  • Whole Child Parenting
Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
Rachel Simmons

In this updated edition, educator and bullying expert Rachel Simmons gives girls, parents, and educators proven and innovative strategies for navigating social dynamics in person and online, as well as brand new classroom initiatives and step-by-step parental suggestions for dealing with conventional bullying. With up-to-the-minute research and real-life stories, Odd Girl Out continues to be the definitive resource on the most pressing social issues facing girls today.

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No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls
  • Whole Child Parenting
No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls
Katie Hurley LCSW

Once upon a time, mean girls primarily existed in high school, while elementary school-aged girls spent hours at play and enjoyed friendships without much drama. But in this fast-paced world in which young girls are exposed to negative behaviors on TV and social media from the moment they enter school, they are also becoming caught up in social hierarchies much earlier. No More Mean Girls is a guide for parents to help their young daughters navigate tricky territories such as friendship building, creating an authentic self, standing up for themselves and others, and expressing themselves in a healthy way.

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Parenting With Love And Logic
  • Whole Child Parenting
Parenting With Love And Logic
Foster Cline and Jim Fay

This parenting book shows you how to raise self-confident, motivated children who are ready for the real world. Learn how to parent effectively while teaching your children responsibility and growing their character.

Establish healthy control through easy-to-implement steps without anger, threats, nagging, or power struggles.

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Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men
  • Whole Child Parenting
Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men
Meg Meeker

From the moment a mother holds her newborn son, his eyes tell her that she is his world. But often, as he grows up, the boy who needs her simultaneously pushes her away. Calling upon thirty years of experience as a pediatrician, Meg Meeker, M.D., a highly sought after national speaker, assistant professor of clinical medicine, and mother of four, shares the secrets that every mother needs to know in order to strengthen—or rebuild—her relationship with her son.

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Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
  • Whole Child Parenting
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Carol S. Dweck

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment.

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Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood
  • Whole Child Parenting
Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood
Lisa Damour, PhD

In this sane, highly engaging, and informed guide for parents of daughters, Dr. Damour draws on decades of experience and the latest research to reveal the seven distinct—and absolutely normal—developmental transitions that turn girls into grown-ups, including Parting with Childhood, Contending with Adult Authority, Entering the Romantic World, and Caring for Herself. Providing realistic scenarios and welcome advice on how to engage daughters in smart, constructive ways, Untangled gives parents a broad framework for understanding their daughters while addressing their most common questions.

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Queen Bees and Wannabes, 3rd Edition
  • Whole Child Parenting
Queen Bees and Wannabes, 3rd Edition
Rosalind Wiseman

In her groundbreaking book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, Empower cofounder Rosalind Wiseman takes you inside the secret world of girls’ friendships. Wiseman has spent more than a decade listening to thousands of girls talk about the powerful role cliques play in shaping what they wear and say, how they respond to boys, and how they feel about themselves. In this candid, insightful book, she dissects each role in the clique: Queen Bees, Wannabes, Messengers, Bankers, Targets, Torn Bystanders, and more. She discusses girls’ power plays, from birthday invitations to cafeteria seating arrangements and illicit parties. 

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Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
  • Whole Child Parenting
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
Angela Duckworth

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People).

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
  • Whole Child Parenting
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
Sean Covey

Now updated for the digital age, this classic book applies the timeless principles of 7 Habits to the tough issues and life-changing decisions teens face. Covey provides a simple approach to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, and appreciate their parents, as well as tackle the new challenges of our time, like cyberbullying and social media.

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The Brain That Changes Itself
  • Learning Differences
The Brain That Changes Itself
Norman Doidge, MD

An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable, and proving that it is, in fact, possible to change your brain. Psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity, its healing powers, and the people whose lives they’ve transformed—people whose mental limitations, brain damage or brain trauma were seen as unalterable.

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Power of Different
  • Learning Differences
Power of Different
Gail Saltz

In The Power of Different, psychiatrist and bestselling author Gail Saltz examines the latest scientific discoveries, profiles famous geniuses who have been diagnosed with all manner of brain “problems”―including learning disabilities, ADD, anxiety, Depression, Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Autism―and tells the stories of lay individuals to demonstrate how specific deficits in certain areas of the brain are directly associated with the potential for great talent.

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He's Not Lazy: Empowering Your Son to Believe In Himself
  • Learning Differences
He's Not Lazy: Empowering Your Son to Believe In Himself
Adam Price, PhD

On the surface, capable teenage boys may look lazy. But dig a little deeper, writes child psychologist Adam Price in He’s Not Lazy, and you’ll often find conflicted boys who want to do well in middle and high school but are afraid to fail, and so do not try. This book can help you become an ally with your son, as he discovers greater self-confidence and accepts responsibility for his future.

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Scattered
  • Learning Differences
Scattered
Gabor Maté, MD

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has quickly become a controversial topic in recent years. Whereas other books on the subject describe the condition as inherited, Dr. Maté believes that our social and emotional environments play a key role in both the cause of and cure for this condition. 

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Raising Kids with Sensory Processing Disorders
  • Learning Differences
Raising Kids with Sensory Processing Disorders
Rondalyn Whitney & Varleisha Gibbs

Whether it's having to remove tags from clothing or using special dimmed lighting when they study, kids with sensory disorders or special sensory needs often need adaptations in their everyday lives in order to find success in school and beyond. 

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Take Control of Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties
  • Learning Differences
Take Control of Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties
Janet Price & Jennifer Engel Fisher

Take Control of Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties is a unique guidebook written especially for kids with dyslexia and other reading difficulties to help them overcome their reading struggles and find success in school and beyond. 

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The ADD & ADHD Answer Book
  • Learning Differences
The ADD & ADHD Answer Book
Susan Ashley, PhD

ADD and ADHD are estimated to affect at least 3 to 7 percent of school-age children and the amount of information available on the subject can be overwhelming, confusing and oftentimes, conflicting. The ADD & ADHD Answer Book is a reassuring, authoritative reference for you and your family, providing sound advice and immediate answers to your most pressing questions. 

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101 School Success Tools for Smart Kids with Learning Difficulties
  • Learning Differences
101 School Success Tools for Smart Kids with Learning Difficulties
Betty Roffman Shevitz, Marisa Stemple, Linda Barnes-Robinson, & Sue Jeweler

Every teacher knows them: bright students who face learning difficulties that interfere with their ability to shine at school. 101 School Success Tools for Smart Kids With Learning Difficulties is a comprehensive resource that will help educators recognize and nurture the potential in these students, providing strategies to empower smart kids with learning challenges to become successful, confident, and independent learners.

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101 School Success Tools for Students with ADHD
  • Learning Differences
101 School Success Tools for Students with ADHD
Jacqueline Iseman, Stephan Silverman, & Sue Jeweler

101 School Success Tools for Students with ADHD provides materials and the guidance necessary to assist teachers and parents as they empower students with ADHD to become successful learners.

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Smart but Scattered
  • Learning Differences
Smart but Scattered
Peg Dawson & Richard Guare

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your “smart but scattered” child might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there’s a lot you can do to help.

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