Analysis of the Book The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness

The work comprises a deep analysis of the book written by the leading ADHD expert Dr. Ned Hallowell, who describes a 5-step plan aimed at enhancing the chances of a child to live a meaningful and joyful life. The author insists that the key elements of the happy children’s life are play, connectedness, practice, recognition, and mastery, which are reflected in the self-perpetuating cycle, where one step leads to another. According to the explanations of the author represented in The Childhood Roots of Adulthood Happiness: Five Steps to Help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy, the fundamental concept provides the key how to raise children with a healthy self-esteem, spiritual values, and moral awareness. The book consists of 15 chapters, which describe the specific steps that a person should take in order to increase the chance of a child to find happiness that will increase in the adulthood. Thus, the analysis focuses on the investigation of the five steps proposed by the author and their effectiveness, which requires the productive work of the parents and teachers, who by using the specific approach have all the chances to make the childhood happy and jolly.

The first chapter is called “What Do I Really Want for My Children.” In this chapter, Dr.Ned Hallowell tells that parents should be aware of what they really want from their children. In fact, the majority of people want to see their children happy. If parents want to reach their aim, they have to emphasize on such significant aspects as optimism, connectedness, and playfulness on a constant basis (Hallowell, 2003). The traditional advices induce parents to work hard on the ethical aspects during the process of bringing up of their children. However, such position often backfires when put into the practice (Hallowell, 2003). The author insists that joy can be more easily reached by using the power of play and connection as well as can be destroyed by the power of fear and guilt (Hallowell, 2003). Another significant question parents should ask themselves is “How to define the essence of the happiness for the family?” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi led the author to the conclusion that happiness is when some feelings or actions bring a great jolly and enjoyment to a certain person (Hallowell, 2003). The research shows that people are happier in the state of “flow” when the person is one unit with what he/she is doing. Children call such condition “play” (Hallowell, 2003). Thus, parents should apply many efforts to make the play of children positive with colorful memories and pleasant experience. Dr. Ned Hallowell emphasizes that the single greatest need in the life of a child is the emotional security and connectedness that is beyond the clothing, shelter, and food (Hallowell, 2003). Connectedness induces the formation of the magic, which should be in the life of every child. Love activeness is one of the connectedness’s reflections that seed the growth of happiness in the adulthood. The crucial aspect that has to be understood by parents is that they should never forget how deeply the children need to feel that (Hallowell, 2003). If parents want to realize such hypothesis effectively, they should trust them, bring enjoy, and play letting children to be an active part of the life.

The second chapter of the book is called “A Crazy Love That Never Quits: The Parent’s Magical Tool.” The author begins with the explanation that being a parent is difficult, because their responsibility is equal to those of teachers or coaches. The collaboration of parents with teachers can steer kids into the right path (Hallowell, 2003). Dr. Ned Hallowell insists that all people need to feel the support of others and create a plan for their further actions. Thus, parents have to teach their children not to be shy, ask for the help, and never pretend that there is no problem (Hallowell, 2003). If a person denies the help, he/she automatically receives a substantial amount of stress. Parents should induce their children to work as that is an integral part of life, which helps to contribute to the successful achievement of the mastery that will prevent the occurrence of stress in future (Hallowell, 2003). The other significant factor in the children’s upbringing is teaching to avoid sadness. Extroversion and optimism should be significantly controlled by parents and made to be the root of the childhood, because that can significantly improve the emotional health of a child that will be promoted and motivated by getting the good grades at school or college (Hallowell, 2003). The author also mentions the research of the psychology professor, Jerome Kagan, who explains the roots of unhappiness, which is reflected in the parent’s expectation from children more than they can deliver (Hallo
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