Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be

This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read! I have highlighted what feels like almost every page because there is so much wisdom and practical advice throughout. Although it is written for parents, I truly believe its message applies to everyone. The principles of empathy, connection, emotional regulation, and understanding human behavior can strengthen any relationship. As a marriage and family therapy intern, I found this book incredibly valuable both personally and professionally. It has given me insights that I use not only with families and children but also with teens, adults, and couples. The concepts are easy to understand, compassionate, and immediately applicable to everyday life. Whether you’re a parent, therapist, teacher, caregiver, or simply someone who wants to build healthier relationships, this book is absolutely worth reading. I will be recommending it to many others and know I’ll return to it again and again.

I am a 59-year-old mom whose relationships have been dramatically changed for the better by Dr. Becky Kennedy. Though her book seems to be written for parents of young children, it is actually an invaluable resource to anyone wanting to understand the people they love the most in order to have deep, meaningful connections with them. Her Good Inside approach has strengthened my resolve to trust my adult kids, to listen far more than I speak, to prioritize understanding them over convincing them of the rightness of my own ideas, and has helped me tremendously in supporting my kids when they are wrestling with challenges in life. This is one of those books that you can read or listen to over and over again, and you'll hear something new every single time. What I would give to have had this book when I was raising our four kids...it would have been a total game changer! But even now, it has really empowered me to do transformative repair with my children over things I missed, or things I didn't get just right with them. If you are longing to have a deeper, more emotionally safe connection with your adult kids, this is a phenomenal place to start. I don't have grandchildren yet, but if I ever do, I'll be MUCH more prepared to be the kind of grandparent who respects our kids' boundaries, who is open to new approaches to discipline (and who understands the research behind recent changes in thought), and who thoroughly enjoys every moment with our grandchildren. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

I was blow away by how practical and applicable this book is. With such heartfelt, kind and “doable” advice - this book makes a better approach to parenting something anyone can achieve in just a few hours. Not every chapter applies to every kid: but each one has practical steps you can apply that same day! I feel like it takes the mystery out of the fine line between authoritarian parenting and d permissive parenting. My favorite take away was “2 things can be true at the same time. I have a good kid AND they are having a hard time” (instead of seeing a child as being “bad). I think everyone will be able to take helpful insight away from this book. I finished the kindle version and will be buying a paper copy so that I can start over and highlight things lol! This could be the ONLY parenting book you read and you will still be 100x better than your peers.

Very good basic subjective author. Some modern therapist offer a different perspective on rewards and child behavior, but to be expected in academia. As with any behavioral psychology observable or behavioral science documents - measure the subjective amount against the scientific controlling evidence being offerred. If no evidence - it is just subjective opinion.

As a parent and as a tutor/coach of children and teens, I think this book is excellent, especially in its guidance on preventing shame and promoting resilience. I value the ways it complements Internal Family Systems therapy.

Good Inside and Dr. Becky are everything the world needs now. A strong, sturdy perspective that truly, wholeheartedly believes in the good inside us all. That is truly not cheap talk. It. is. the. real. deal. This book is a parenting book that covers big picture philosophical understandings of parenthood AND the more practical, day-to-day implementation of said philosophies. Dr. Becky is incredible about explaining the underlying reasons for why kids do what they do and why WE respond as we do and then she talks us through exactly how to apply the "most generous interpretation" so that we can do better for the next generation AND for ourselves. Good Inside is also a REparenting book and a leadership book. She will teach you how to show up for the realness of your own life for yourself and for the kids that you love most dearly. Truly, there is not a better way to spend your money. Maybe go ahead and stock up on highlighters and your favorite pens too because, if you're like me, you will be highlighting and underlining left and right. It's truly that game-changing. Get ready to finally understand your job description as a parent and your kids' job descriptions as wonderful, little growing humans in the world. And if you yourself need healing from your own childhood, this will open the door for that too. I know that you, dear Amazon review reader, do not know me but I am not really prone to hyperbole. I do not feel it is an exaggeration to say that Dr. Becky and Good Inside is game-changing. This purchase is truly an investment in yourself and the kind of parent and person you want to be and an investment in your kids and their future.

I just started this book and I’m already blown away. Best. Parenting. Book. EVER. And this is coming from someone who has already invested a good deal in “Positive Parenting Solutions”, among other programs. I’ve learned a lot from PPS, but the style and language is so far from anything natural that I would ever actually say to my kids. I could never find a way to make it my own. I just couldn’t stick with it. I’ve since found other parenting coaches who are much more grounded and keep it real. But I’ve been finding that Dr. Becky really has the clearest insight and the simplest ways of describing what our kids are going through and how to help them, that I just had to try her book. Parenting does not come naturally to me. I grew up with a lot of trauma. Growing up in an alcoholic household leaves behind a lot of PTSD and triggers. My father had no coping skills. So he drank. And yelled. And he passed down his lack of coping skills to me. And while I may not drink, my first reaction to anything is to want to yell. And I don’t want my kids growing up the way I did. So I read a lot of parenting books and I try to find ways to regulate my emotions so that I don’t yell at my kids. But it’s hard. It’s all I’ve ever known. From all of my readings over the years on parenting, I still struggle with controlling my own emotions when my kids are having ‘big feelings’. It’s really been bothering me lately, because I know that if I cannot regulate mySELF, then I sure as hell am not teaching my kids how to do so. And worse, I’m showing them how to lose control when things get tough. Well…. I just finished chapter 3 of “Good Inside” and I already feel like I have such a better picture as to what my kids are going through behind those tantrums. And more importantly, not only am I seeing more clearly what they’re going through, I’m fully understanding the depth of layers involved in my own reactions and how they’re truly shaping my kids. This book has stopped me in my tracks. Within the same day of parenting my kids and yelling at them in the morning, I reframed my interaction with them when they got home from school, after reading just a couple of chapters of “Good Inside”. My biggest takeaways so far: - “We all have our own jobs in the family and a child’s job is this- exploring and learning through experiencing and expressing emotions.” - “The goal is to teach our kids how to manage all of their feelings and perceptions and thoughts and urges; we are the primary vehicle for this teaching, not through lectures or logic, but through the experiences our children have with us.” - “Boundaries are not what we tell kids NOT to do. Boundaries are what we tell kids WE WILL do. Boundaries embody your authority as a parent and don’t require your child to do anything.” And the MOST impactful takeaway for me is in Dr. Becky’s discussion on what a boundary is NOT: “Here are examples of ‘not’ boundaries, but instead ways we essentially ask our kids to do our jobs for us.” "Please stop hitting your brother!" "Stop running!” “Why do you have to make this so hard?" “In each of these examples, parents are asking their kids to inhibit an urge or desire that, frankly, they are developmentally incapable of inhibiting.” Mind blown. Nuff said. 🤯❤️🤯❤️🤯❤️🤯❤️ BUY. THIS. BOOK.

This book has been so, so wonderfully helpful, my husband jokes it’s now my bible. Kiddo went from like 10-20 meltdowns a day to only a couple, and those are resolved in like a tenth of the time. I feel so much less frustrated and more connected, and able to handle it when he does dysregulate in a way that makes me proud. It’s also honestly been healing for me as a child of loving parents who nonetheless didn’t learn all this stuff and did a lot of invalidating and shaming. It’s great theory and very easily digestible and applicable practice combined. I wish I’d found it 3 years sooner and I can’t recommend it enough.

Libro davvero interessante, ben scritto e che da molti spunti di riflessione. Consigliatissimo.

Excellent book for parenting

I often read parenting books and find stuff applicable to the work environment. This book explains the connection on childhood and adulthood an how they correlate. It goes over how two things are true when talking about feelings, which is so important to understand. Its such a good book it became my favorite parenting book and I want it on audible to listen to it yearly and refresh the concepts.

Fulfilled it’s premise!

Ótimo livro para quem quer ter ferramentas para educação respeitosa.