HOW TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE summary

Introduction

How to Raise Successful People by Esther Wojcicki What is in it for me? Be the parent your child needs. In the nineteen sixties, when journalist and educator, Esther Wojcicki, was a new, young mother. She struggled to know, where to turn for parenting advice.

Nowadays, things have changed. In fact, modern parents, are bombarded with tips and strategies, on how to raise their children right. Unfortunately, though, much of this advice, focuses on how to help your child, become a high achiever. Often, through micromanaging their actions.

Rather than, how to develop a happy, well adjusted member of society. That is where, Esther Wojcicki comes in. Instead of focusing purely on success and achievement. Her advice highlights, the unsung values, you should be passing on, to your children.

Like trust, respect, and independence. Drawing on the poignant, real life experiences of her own family. As well as, those of her students. This summary shows you, how you can excel, at the most important job, you will ever have.

Raising the next generation. Read on to discover, what you can learn, from your own childhood. How much structure, your child really needs. And why parents, should not behave like helicopters.

This is How to Raise Successful People, by Esther Wojcicki.

Learning from Parental Past

Becoming a better parent, requires taking the best, of your parents efforts, and leaving the rest. When it comes to parenting, it is a known fact, that we tend to raise our children, in the same way, our parents raised us. Now, this might not sound so bad, if you enjoyed a happy, and contented childhood.

But the reality is, that many of us, have experienced, some sort of childhood trauma. Or had parents, who made serious mistakes. Growing up, in an orthodox Jewish family, in the nineteen fifties. The author experienced, her fair share, of damaging parental behavior.

At the tender age of five, her father told her, that boys were more important than girls. And her upbringing, reflected this attitude. While her younger brother Lee, was showered with attention, toys, and extra helpings at dinner. She watched from the sidelines, rarely given anything to play with.

Sometimes, she was even scolded, for eating too much at mealtimes. Her parents' religion, informed their belief, that a woman's place, was in the home. And at age eighteen, when she rejected marriage, in favor of attending college. Her parents, cut her off financially.

In spite of her difficult beginnings, or perhaps because of them. The author was determined, to raise her own children, in a spirit of support and acceptance. As part of this process, she took the time, to reevaluate, her own childhood experiences. By reassessing them, with the benefit, of an adult perspective, she thought she could choose which parenting behaviors she wanted to emulate, and which she really did not.

Her fathers example, that of a distant, and authoritarian figure, was something, that she definitely wanted to avoid. Her mother, on the other hand, had been consistently warm and loving. The author, has tried to replicate this, and build an equally close relationship, with her own daughters. While rejecting, the unyielding sexism, expressed by her father.

In an effort, to avoid her fathers mistakes, she constantly taught her daughters, to exert control over their own lives by making choices. She developed, their decision making abilities, by asking them questions like. Is it a banana, or an orange that you want? Or, do you want to paint a picture, or play in the yard?

Questions like these, might seem insignificant. But for the author, they represented, an important break, with the suffocating sexism, of her own childhood.