Why Will No One Play with Me?
The Play Better Plan to Help Children of All Ages Make Friends and Thrive
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
2020 BEST BOOK AWARD WINNER, PARENTING & FAMILY CATEGORY (Awarded by American Book Fest)
NAMED ONE OF THE 100 BEST ADHD BOOKS OF ALL TIME (BookAuthority)
MOM'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
From renowned parent expert Caroline Maguire, Why Will No One Play with Me? is a groundbreaking program that has helped thousands of children struggling with social skills to make friends, find acceptance, and have a happy childhood. Every parent wants their child to be okay—to have friends, to be successful, to feel comfortable in his or her own skin. But many children lack important social and executive functioning skills that allow them to navigate through the world with ease. In-demand parenting expert and former Hallowell Center coach Caroline Maguire has worked with thousands of families dealing with chronic social dilemmas, ranging from shyness to aggression to ADHD, and more. In this groundbreaking book named one of the "Best ADHD Books of All Time" by BookAuthority, she shares her decade-in-the-making protocol—The Play Better Plan—to help parents coach children of any background to connect with others and make friends. Children of all ages—truly, from Kindergarten to college age—will gain the confidence to make friends and get along with others, using tools such as:*Social Sleuthing: learn to pay attention to social cues*Post-Play Date Huddles: help kids figure out what to look for in a friendship*Reflective Listening: improve your child's relationship with their peers With compassion and ease, this program gives parents a tangible, easy-to-follow guide for helping kids develop the executive function and social skills they need to thrive.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This thoughtful, compassionate primer to helping children overcome social challenges from Maguire, a coach for children with ADHD and their families, puts a full roster of tools, along with some encouragement, into the hands of parents. Taking the attitude "If they could, they would," Maguire tasks readers with running scheduled, structured coaching sessions and practice playdates for their kids, complete with specific goals and debriefing discussions. She also includes general directions for parents on reflective listening, open-ended questioning, and praise and prompting; diagnostic tests to assess a child's executive function skills and other areas; and beginner and advanced lessons directed toward particular challenge areas. Though Maguire claims the system will work for all ages, the language used and style of parent/child interaction assumed make it most appropriate for elementary school learners. It does not explicitly address family dynamics, except for Maguire's admonishment to parents to keep their own emotions out of the process. Definitely labor intensive, Maguire's primer nonetheless breaks down an issue that can seem overwhelming into practical, bite-size chunks, and parents willing to prioritize her solutions should find this guidebook comprehensive and usable.
