Amy Elizabeth Olrick - The 6 Needs of Every Child: Empowering Parents and Kids Through the Science of Connection

As a mother of three school-age kids all with unique needs, I know this is the book that will be sitting on my nightstand to remind me at the end of challenging days that parenting is hard for everyone and to reassure me that I dont have to do anything extraordinary to be exactly what my children need. With all the parenting advice poured out in the world today, its so easy to feel unequipped, intimidated, and guilty for what were not doing right. Jeffrey and Amy not only simplify complicated parenting truths into attainable action; they also support these truths with both science and their own relatable parenting stories that make you feel seen and inspired to start again tomorrow. For anyone whos ever felt lonely or unsure in parenting (isnt that all of us?), this book is for you. Thank you, Jeffrey and Amy, for giving us a compass that will always lead us home.

KELLE HAMPTON, author of Bloom

I was captivated by this book. While much of it is familiar to me as a clinical child psychologist specializing in attachment, Jeffrey and Amy talk about these truths in a way that make them real and personal. They also link these truths to a spiritual design by a loving God, something very much missing in most faith-based parenting books and curriculums. I will most definitely be recommending it both to my own family and to my clients.

DEBBIE WEBB BLACKBURN, PhD, executive director of Partners in Parenting

Compared with all the parenting books Ive consumed in my decade as a mom, this is the most insightful, encouraging, and relationship-changing one that Ive come across. From easy, practical tips to deeper, more thought-provoking passages, I finished this book feeling like I had a new blueprint for how to help my kids thrive. This book was the invitation I was looking for to really nourish my life as a parent.

CLAIRE BIDWELL SMITH, author of Anxiety

Amy and Jeffreys love and respect for parents and children shine through the book and will give light, hope, and encouragement to all parents who long to give their children a healthy and loving foundation in life. Well-founded in developmental theory and research, their words move us forward to joy in our relationships with our children and God.

WILLIAM F. WHELAN, PsyD, director of the Virginia Child & Family Attachment Center

This is the parenting handbook Ive been waiting for! Marked by wonder, wit, and wisdom, The 6 Needs of Every Child offers practical tools for how to parent with love. Each chapter begins with a story that made me laugh, then tear up, recognizing familiar moments with my own children. Just when I asked, Well, what do I do? I was handed a new tool. As a mother to a five-year-old and one-year-old, I use the compass in this book every day now. It has already broken old patterns, opened new possibilities, and will accompany our children as they grow. Im grateful I found this book at the start of my parenting journey! Olrick and Olrick have given parents everywhere an indispensable handbook for our times.

VALARIE KAUR, civil rights activist, author of See No Stranger

Wow! This is the one book I will buy and send to my adult kids who are raising kids of their own. And this is the one book I wish I had when I was a new parent. It combines research-based insight with deep moral and spiritual sensitivity, and it is written with both clarity and heart. (I had tears in my eyes more than once in almost every chapter.) Beyond the all-important parenting role, the six-needs framework is helping me better understand myself and others; it is a powerful tool for all human relationships. Where previous generations of parents referred to books by Spock, Dobson, or Chapman, future generations will refer to Olrick and Olrick as one of the books that every parent should read. A new parenting classic is born!

BRIAN D. MCLAREN, author of The Great Spiritual Migration

Reading The 6 Needs of Every Child felt like sitting around my kitchen table laughing and learning with two of my closest friendsone of whom just happens to be a renowned child psychologist. Balancing science and stories, Amy and Jeffrey illustrate that even the best parents make mistakesand thats completely fine! The 6 Needs of Every Child is a practical, relatable guide to establishing a lifelong healthy relationship with your child.

LINDA KAY KLEIN, author of Pure

Its so important to have role models of good parenting, and lets be honest, some of us just dont have that. Jeffrey and Amy Olrick speak through the pages of this book like gentle guides, empathetic to the struggles of parents and children alike. It made me breathe a little easier and relax into the best part of being a parent: simply being with my children. Give yourself this gift; you deserve it!

CINDY BRANDT, author of Parenting Forward

Full of grace and backed by research, The 6 Needs of Every Child was exactly what I needed to recalibrate my parenting with a new focus on connection.

ANNA WHISTON-DONALDSON, New York Times bestselling author of Rare Bird

Amy and Jeffrey have provided an invaluable guide for connecting with your child. They take the pressure off while sharing helpful approaches to parenting that are grounded in research yet accessible for busy parents.

KRISPIN MAYFIELD, LPC, author, host of the Attached to the Invisible podcast

Husband and wife team Amy and Jeffrey Olrick are here to pull back the curtain and shed some much-needed light on how we can all learn to better connect with our kids to parent successfully while also shedding the crippling garb of perfection. From the very first page, this wise, heartfelt, and information-packed book was a balm to my beleaguered mamas soul. Calling all weary parents who are deep in the child-rearing trenches: youll want to read this one ASAP and definitely with a highlighter handy.

SARAH JIO, journalist, New York Times bestselling author

Finally! A book for parents who are ready to break free from obedience-based parenting and move to grace-filled, relationship-based parenting. Amy and Jeff use story and science to seamlessly blend attachment, child development, and faith, clearly leading parents through the six needs of every child. This is more than a how to do parenting book; its a how to be parenting book that encourages parents to embrace their unique challenges and strengths, imperfectly sharing the love of God with their children.

NICOLE SCHWARZ, MA, LMFT, parenting coach at Imperfect Families

ZONDERVAN THRIVE

The 6 Needs of Every Child

Copyright 2020 by Amy Olrick and Jeffrey Olrick

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Zondervan titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email SpecialMarkets@Zondervan.com.

ISBN 978-0-310-35809-1 (audio)

Epub Edition April 2020 9780310358084

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Olrick, Jeffrey, author. | Olrick, Amy Elizabeth, author.

Title: The 6 needs of every child : empowering parents and kids through the science of connection / Jeffrey Olrick, Amy Elizabeth Olrick.

Other titles: Six needs of every child

Description: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: Your child doesnt need a perfect parent, but a present one. Amy and Jeffrey Olrick draw on experience, research, and Jeffreys work as a child psychologist to help parents discover the power of relational connection. With compassion, faith, and humor, The 6 Needs of Every Child offers insight and tools that will sustain your child for a lifetimeProvided by publisher.