The Orchid and the Dandelion

"The Orchid and the Dandelion is based on groundbreaking research that has the power to change the lives of countless children - and the adults who love them." Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Quiet

Why do some people succeed and others struggle? Why are some people's lives filled with satisfaction and happiness and others with frustration and despair? Why do some people die young, while others live into healthy old age? Is it simply chance and luck, or are there early patterns of development revealing potentially determinative pathways into bounty or calamity?

In The Orchid and the Dandelion, Dr W. Thomas Boyce - one of the world's foremost researchers in the field of paediatric health - presents findings that children have two very different responses to their environments. While some children are like dandelions and can thrive in almost any environment, there are others who, like orchids, are much more reactive and susceptible to their surroundings. Now we finally have a scientific framework to understand people, know how to address their unique needs and help them find their fullest potential.

This groundbreaking book draws on extensive research, examples and real stories that will re-frame how we think about orchid and dandelion children and the adults those children have become.

PRAISE FOR THE ORCHID AND THE DANDELION

"There is an extensive audience of parents and teachers whose lives will be touched by this book. The wellbeing of their children and their students will reap enormous benefits from what Tom Boyce can teach us all about the valleys and the mountaintops of child development" Jack P. Shonkoff M.D., Director, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University; Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital

"It's a must read for all parents, teachers, and psychologists!" John M. Gottmann, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child

"A true gift to parents and teachers globally" Elissa S. Epel, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, UCSF