A #1 international best-selling guide by a longtime developmental psychologist, whose radically simple guidance has already helped tens of thousands of parents better understand and raise their children
During the early stages of development, it can be hard to gauge what your child needs and wants, especially before they can speak. The way we view the world as adults is often very different than how children see things. One of the best ways to understand your child’s behavior and support their development is to change your perspective and learn to view the world through your child’s eyes.
Does My Child Need Me to Lead, or to Follow? focuses on one simple but profoundly consequential and helpful idea: knowing when to lead your child, and knowing when to follow their lead. Tracking the development of a fictional child named “Alex” from infancy through age six, longtime expert child psychologist Claudia Schwarzlmüller takes parents through dozens of situations, helping them to understand when they best guide their children and when best they should follow their children’s lead.
Rather than focusing on behavioral skills (for example, how to wean your child off their pacifier), Schwarzlmüller demonstrates how parents can stimulate development of soft skills, like empathy, problem-solving, initiative, and teamwork, through her ever-at-the-ready leading and following method. Each chapter highlights four main areas (thinking and playing, feelings and relationships, movement, and language) where—based on their child’s age—parents should either lead or follow. Through her expert insights, Schwarzlmüller offers a new way of parenting that views children as their own people, rather than mini adults who must conform to our rules; builds strong relationships between parents and children; and gives children the tools and freedom they need to become emotionally resilient and independent.
