The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure

A Positive Approach to Pushing Your Child to Be Their Best Self

By: Dr. Christopher Thurber, Hendrie Weisinger PhD

Narrated by: Stacy Carolan

The Right Kind of Parental Pressure Puts Kids on a Path to Success. The Wrong Kind Can Be Disastrous.

Level up your parenting with this positive approach to pushing your child to be their best self.

Parents instinctively push their kids to succeed. Yet well-meaning parents can put soul-crushing pressure on kids, leading to under-performance and serious mental health problems instead of social, emotional, and academic success. So where are they going astray? According to Drs. Chris Thurber and Hendrie Weisinger, it all comes down to asking the right question. Instead of “How much pressure?”, you should be thinking “How do I apply pressure?”

The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure addresses the biggest parenting dilemma of all time: how to push kids to succeed and find happiness in a challenging world without pushing them too far. The solution lies in Thurber and Weisinger’s eight methods for transforming harmful pressure to healthy pressure.

Each transformation is enlivened by case studies, grounded in research, and fueled by practical strategies that you can start using right away. By upending conventional wisdom, Thurber and Weisinger provide you with the revolutionary guide you need to nurture motivation, improve your interactions with your child, build deep connections, sidestep cultural pitfalls, and, ultimately, help your kids become their best selves.

©2021 Chris Thurber, PhD and Hendrie Weisinger, PhD (P)2021 Hachette Go

Critic reviews

"The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure is the rare parenting book that respects both parents and children. Instead of simply applauding parental pressure as the key to success or dismissing it as cruel and ineffective, Thurber and Weisinger walk their readers through the theory and practice of parenting happy, successful children. A tour de force." (Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer, education columnists for The Atlantic and the authors of Taking the Stress out of Homework)

"Parental pressure is often detrimental to a child’s desire to participate in sports. This book provides parent the tools to transform parental pressure into a positive force that will encourage your child to follow their passion and perform their best, be it on the soccer field or school field.” (Gregg Bernhalter, head coach, US Men’s National Soccer Team)

"Drs. Thurber and Weisinger do a masterful job of deconstructing the art and science of parenting by centering the child and providing a framework for parents to be intentional and reflective as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of parenting. The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure is a must-read that we certainly could have used in 1994!" (Katherine G. Windsor, EdD, head of Miss Porter’s School, instructor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education)

What every parent needs to hear

We all want what's best for our children. Sometimes we take that too far. This book is for parents and how to delicately (thus the "art") apply pressure in the right ways at the right time to allow our children to truly flourish. It's life-changing!