Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Review - The 7 Habits of Happy Kids

I must say I was initially skeptical about seeing the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" transitioned into a children's book. While I enjoy the 7 Habits and the principles and concepts taught in that book, I wasn't sure how well it would translate into something that young kids could grasp onto. I was pleasantly surprised.

I read the book with my kids and they all really enjoyed it and have asked me to read various chapters to them again and again.

The book is divided into a chapter for each of the habits. There are cute animal characters used to teach and represent the various habits and to work through situations that can be addressed by applying the habits. Each chapter is written in language appropriate and accessible to young kids and uses plot and story elements they can relate to.

At the end of each chapter is a page with teaching guidelines for parents as well as some questions to ask and discuss with the kids. My kids, especially Julia, absolutely love responding to the various questions and coming up with solutions to problems.

The artwork is great. The stories are fun. The questions and discussions are productive and insightful. I'm not sure yet how much influence this book will have on my kids and their behaviors and habits. But at the very least, it's a good influence that will hopefully rub off on them to some degree.


4 out of 5 stars

View all my reviews




2 comments:

Stacy at The Novel Life said...

how well would this work with a 14 year old boy? or is it just for younger children?

Okie said...

It's definitely geared at the younger crowd. Part of it could be mitigated by the presentation and the rest of the audience. If I read it to all 3 of my kids and gear the questions/discussion at their appropriate age level, it engages my 10-year old enough. But as far as reading it alone with my 10-year old, the stories and characters themselves are very young so I suspect that even in a couple of years, it will be hard to engage him with these stories.

I would say that my 10-year old was borderline. My 5 year old was very engaged all the way through and still picks this book for her bedtime stories from time to time. My 8-year old does still enjoy it as well.

I believe Sean Covey has a "7 habits for teens" book as well, but I haven't read it.