Katie Hurley - The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World

The most important thing is to enjoy your lifeto be happyits all that matters.

AUDREY HEPBURN

OPEN A MAGAZINE, turn on daytime TV, or check in with your good friend Google for a minute and you are likely to find (on any given day) an endless list of parenting theories, books that will make parenting easier, calmer, or quieter, and blogs and articles galore that promise to make you a better parent. Parenting experts crop up just about everywhere these days (guilty as charged) and there is no shortage of information out there when it comes to doing the job right or better or more efficiently.

Yes, somewhere along the way the word parent shifted from a noun, the role people fill when they have a child, to a verb, an action word that signifies the process of executing the most rewarding yet exhausting and frequently judged job in the world. Gone are the days of come-as-you-are parenting. Parents today must keep up with a never-ending list of parenting trends if they want to get the job done right. Or so those books, magazines, and blogs would have you believe.

What all of this information overload is missing, however, is the part about how the kids feel in all of thiswhat makes them thrive? Book after book will teach you how to correct the thousands of things that can (and will) go wrong along this parenting journey, but very few books focus on raising happy kids.

Did you know that happy kids enjoy better school performance, are more successful when it comes to making and keeping friends, and boast better health overall? Its true. Harvard Universitybased happiness and success expert Shawn Achors research, chronicled in his popular book The Happiness Advantage, shows that a happy outlook and foundation leads to success. Achor believes that if parents work on their own happiness, they will raise happier and more successful children as a result.

There are a number of parenting books on the market that focus on putting an end to negative and frustrating behaviors. And for good reason. Parenting can be stressful. Sleepless nights make for very tired and cranky (and possibly prone-to-yelling) mommies. Lengthy tantrums are exhausting. And back-talking school-age children have the potential to send even the most Zen mama running for cover. Theres no doubt about it, parenting is hard work and sometimes a quick fix seems like the best answer. But does the quick fix really hold up as children grow?

Its time to focus on raising happy kids instead. Its time to build our kids up, give them the tools to lead with happiness, and make sure that they know how to jump through the hoops along the way (should those hoops arise). And its long past time to slow down, get back to the business of kids being kids, and put the small stuff into perspective. Life is shortyou want your kids to live happy lives by learning to follow their passions, empathize with others, appreciate those around them, and manage and cope with their own stress.