The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish
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The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Lea Waters (Author), Olivia Mackenzie-Smith (Narrator), Penguin Audio (Publisher)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 133 ratings
See all formats and editions

Unlock your children's potential by helping them build their strengths.

This game-changing book shows us the extraordinary results of focusing on our children's strengths rather than always trying to correct their weaknesses. Most parents struggle with this shift because they suffer from a negativity bias, thanks to evolutionary development, giving them "strengths blindness". By showing us how to throw the "strengths switch", Lea Waters demonstrates how not only can we help our children build resilience, optimism, and achievement but we can also help inoculate them against today's pandemic of depression and anxiety.

As a strengths-based scientist for more than 20 years, 10 of them spent focusing on strengths-based parenting, Waters has seen how this approach enhances self-esteem and energy in both children and teenagers. Yet more on the plus side: Parents find it a particularly exciting and rewarding way to raise children. With many suggestions for specific ways to interact with your kids, Waters demonstrates how to discover strengths and talents in our children, how to use positive emotions as a resource, how to build strong brains, and even how to deal with problem behaviors and talk about difficult situations and emotions. As revolutionary yet simple as Mindset and Grit, The Strength Switch will show parents how a small shift can yield enormous results.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

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  1. Listening Length
    8 hours and 57 minutes
  2. Author
    Lea Waters
  3. Narrator
    Olivia Mackenzie-Smith
  4. Audible release date
    July 11, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Penguin Audio
  7. ASIN
    B071ZQJJPF
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 8 hours and 57 minutes
Author Lea Waters
Narrator Olivia Mackenzie-Smith
Audible.com Release Date July 11, 2017
Publisher Penguin Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B071ZQJJPF
Best Sellers Rank #140,239 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#70 in Parenting School-Age Children
#164 in Parenting Teenagers (Audible Books & Originals)
#254 in Motherhood (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
133 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alicia
5.0 out of 5 stars The Strength Switch is parenting gold!
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
I am a mom of four who voraciously reads books on parenting. Over the past decade I've been carrying, giving birth to, and raising these kids I hope will flourish, I've collected A LOT of books. I've digested a lot of great ideas, but they often don't work in real-life scenarios. And sometimes, you face something there isn't a book for. Take, for example, my toddler's accidental burn injury. Even my pediatrician was at a loss for words about the right way to piece my family back together in the aftermath of trauma.
 
Through that difficult time there was no concrete advice for, I learned to lead by the heart and to trust my instincts. Now, I parent four different ways every day. I conclude there is NO right way or a perfect solution, but by showing up with love, I feel like I am a good enough mom. That's what keeps me chugging along....
 
However, there is one thing that I have practiced over the years that has carried me through the uncertain and treacherous terrain of parenting:
 
I see my kids through their strengths.

That's pretty much the ONLY parenting technique that works for all four of my unique children. Well, along with love. I parent with strengths and love.
 
Listen, I am not an expert. Heck I might even be a flawed practitioner of what any book preaches, because I am simply a REAL mom who tries her hardest every day. But I have noticed that focusing on strengths never fails to steer me wrong.

Since I am raising multiple children, I am often asked how I "survive" my daily chaos, and what books I recommend. I stand firm on my belief that focusing on what's good in our children is a universal and important parenting technique we all should adopt, but I've needed an expert voice to lean on.

Along came The Strength Switch by Lea Waters, PhD and this book is parenting gold! I'll be purchasing this books for friends, as a gift for teachers (it makes a fabulous holiday gift), and recommending it anytime I am asked how to raise thriving children!

Written by a distinguished positive psychologist (and mother of two) who draws on decades of personal and clinical experience, The Strength Switch delivers an approach to parenting that is simple, practical, and effective.

Waters arms her readers with the knowledge of our negativity bias (seeing strengths can be hard), but shows us why and how we can work at shifting towards a parenting style that will build resilience, optimism, and an enduring sense of achievement. Strength-based parenting helps us not only to see what is "right" about our children, but inspires us to discover their strengths and talents. By nurturing their strengths, they just might flourish.

At the end of the day, isn't that the goal?

If you are feeling even slightly intimidated about delving into a science-based book, DON'T! Despite layers of fascinating research and insightful experiences, what drives the lessons of Strength Switch home is the authentic voice of its author.

Waters is a REAL mom who gets it, and guides us through a more effective way to parent with compassion and humility. Her "real mom" stories plant seeds of hope that by flipping on our strength switch, we just might have more parenting wins than failures.

Buy this book -- it won't steer you wrong! You might just leave it on your nightstand and refer back to it over and over again. At least, I will, because The Strength Switch is the universal parenting manual I've been wishing I had since the moment I became a mom.
21 people found this helpful
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rob ron
4.0 out of 5 stars Critical book on an important subject
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2018
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This book represents somewhat of breakthrough for positive psychology for children. The material itself is 5 stars but the writing styles and excessive examples deterred somewhat from a critical message. I would love to recommend this book to many parents of my child and adolescent patients but I doubt that many will wade through this lengthy book. For those that do I believe they will find information that could be life changing in regards to their approach to parenting.
10 people found this helpful
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TheShark
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This book about strengths has more strengths than we can count - Fresh, New, Credible, Inspiring, and Much More!
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Major kudos to Dr. Lea Waters for synthesizing decades of rigorous research into a compelling read that ANYONE can use in a practical way. The author weaves specific examples (quite bravely!) from her family experience to bring meaningful illustration to what could be an encyclopedic reading of academic findings. The book also provides realistic exercises and techniques that parents can use to make a difference in the lives of others.

I have read the book (which I purchased!), as well as the reviews on this site. The praise for this book is overwhelming and very compelling.
The two critical reviews seem quite personal and petty in their nature and unfounded in light of the depth of the book and its remarkable ease of reading. First, the book is not simply a “feel good” approach filled with logic and platitudes. The author painstakingly provides nearly thirty pages of reference and endnotes to credible sources and studies to substantiate virtually every assertion in the book. Interested researchers can explore that treasure trove of references for endless further reading on this approach and its origins.

As for simplicity, it is a hallmark attribute of this fantastic new offering. The great U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in another context, famously remarked, “For the simplicity that lies this side of complexity, I would not give a fig, but for the simplicity that lies on the other side of complexity, I would give my life.” The Strength Switch cuts through the complexity to reveal the priceless simplicity of changing perspective to promote, cultivate, and refine strengths – how refreshing!

I am quite confident that this approach will equip parents, teachers, and school administrators with the constructive and tested tools and tips to make life better for children today (and for generations to come). Small changes can make a big difference – the rigorous research tells us, but Dr. Waters demonstrates exactly how with compelling clarity and convincing motivation.

Just imagine if we applied her sensible approach, emphasis on strengths over weaknesses, and call for greater gratitude beyond the home to our schools, workplaces, friendships, and all social interactions - the “positive-bilities” (to coin a phrase) would be limitless!
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Claire
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good delivery and book quality
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2022
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Happy with the purchase
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Monica
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro
Reviewed in Mexico on October 16, 2019
Verified Purchase
Buenísimo este libro. Nos ayuda enfocarnos a la hora de formar y educar a los niños, y hasta sirve para hacer trabajo personal. Me gustó mucho.
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Patricia
5.0 out of 5 stars worth reading
Reviewed in Germany on January 14, 2020
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applicaple in so many aspects of life
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Maria.K
3.0 out of 5 stars OK read
Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
I know everyone gave high reviews, this book is good in a sense that it teaches you to stop, calm down and look at a kids strengths, not just the negative stuff which is easier and automatic. But I personally felt this book kept going on and on and on. The concepts could have been presented in a simple format. But the author kept making it more complex and convoluted.
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MrLee
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in India on October 7, 2018
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Good
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