Narrated by Jessica Lahey, The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey has a runtime of 7 hrs 46 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In the tradition of Paul Tough’s How Children Succeed and Wendy Mogel’s The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, this groundbreaking manifesto focuses on the critical school years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that occur from life’s inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults.
Modern parenting is defined by an unprecedented level of overprotectiveness: parents who rush to school at the whim of a phone call to deliver forgotten assignments, who challenge teachers on report card disappointments, mastermind children’s friendships, and interfere on the playing field. As teacher and writer Jessica Lahey explains, even though these parents see themselves as being highly responsive to their children’s well being, they aren’t giving them the chance to experience failure—or the opportunity to learn to solve their own problems.
Overparenting has the potential to ruin a child’s confidence and undermine their education, Lahey reminds us. Teachers don’t just teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. They teach responsibility, organization, manners, restraint, and foresight—important life skills children carry with them long after they leave the classroom.
Providing a path toward solutions, Lahey lays out a blueprint with targeted advice for handling homework, report cards, social dynamics, and sports. Most importantly, she sets forth a plan to help parents learn to step back and embrace their children’s failures. Hard-hitting yet warm and wise, The Gift of Failure is essential reading for parents, educators, and psychologists nationwide who want to help children succeed.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Jessica Lahey
- Length: 7 hrs 46 mins
- Publisher: Harper
- Release year: 2015
- Audible category: Health & Wellness / Psychology & Mental Health / Psychology
Listener Ratings
The Gift of Failure holds an average listener rating of 4.6/5 from 896 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.7/5
- Story: 4.6/5
- 5-star ratings: 72% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “A guidepost for parents and teachers”
As a parent of three children and as a second grade teacher, I found this book was speaking to me. Every word echoed my own experiences as a parent. We have begun implementing many of these ideas at home and I have seen my 13 year old take some risks she would have avoided prior. I have also out some practices into practice in my classroom and I am seeing happier kids with more persistence and resilience. This is a book I recommend to all the parents in my classroom. If I could make it required reading, I would! Thank you Jessica!— jennifer Miller, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Every Parent should read this book! “
This book needs to be at the top of every expecting mothers list and every parents Christmas list.— Kim Jones, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Spot On”
Children are so capable and parents treat them like delicate China, not realizing that’s more harmful than helpful. Excellent read.— Annpann, Audible listener
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