Flexibility and tolerance are learned skills, as any parent knows if they've seen an irascible 2-year-old grow into a pleasant, thoughtful, and considerate older child. Unfortunately, for reasons that are poorly understood, a few children don't "get" this part of socialization. Years after toddler tantrums should have become an unpleasant memory, a few unlucky parents find themselves battling with sudden, inexplicable, disturbingly violent rages--along with crushing guilt about what they "did wrong." Medical experts haven't helped much: the flurry of acronyms and labels (Tourette's, ADHD, ADD, etc.) seems to proffer new discoveries about the causes of such explosions, when in fact the only new development is alternative vocabulary to describe the effects. Ross Greene, a pediatric psychologist who also teaches at Harvard Medical School, makes a bold and humane attempt in this book to cut through the blather and speak directly to the (usually desperate) parents of explosive children. His text is long and serious, and has the advantage of covering an enormous amount of ground with nuance, detail, and sympathy, but also perhaps the disadvantage that only those parents who are not chronically tired and time-deprived are likely to get through the entire book. Quoted dialogue from actual sessions with parents and children is interspersed with analysis that is always oriented toward understanding the origins of "meltdowns" and developing workable strategies for avoidance. Although pharmacological treatment is not the book's focus, there is a chapter on drug therapies. --Richard Farr


The Bloomsbury Review
"A tremendous resource and a must-read for adults involved with easily frustrated children who are hard to manage."


Myrna B. Shure, Ph.D., author of Raising a Thinking Child
"An insightful, sensitive portrayal of children who need helpand how to help them."


Robert Brooks, Ph.D., author of The Self-Esteem Teacher
"This is a truly remarkable book. . . . [Dr. Greene] skillfully provides us with both a framework and practical interventions for minimizing struggles with these children and enhancing their development . . . What comes across on every page of this wonderful book is a genuine caring and compassion for these youngsters and their families."


Thomas H. Ollendick, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Child Study Center, Virginia Tech
"The Explosive Child is a must for the many parents, teachers, and professionals who attempt to guide, teach, and work with difficult, hard-to-manage, and easily frustrated children. . . . A must-readfor the children's sake and ours."


Michael Jellinek, M.D., Chief, Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
"A user-friendly, practical guide for parents trying to help difficult, explosive children. This book will be of enormous benefit to such children and their families."


Edward Hallowell, M.D. author of Driven to Distraction and Worry: Controlling it and Using it Wisely
"All parents should read this book . . . I could not recommend it book more highly."


Book Description
An explosive child who frequently exhibits severe noncompliance, temper outbursts, and verbal or physical aggression. If this sounds like your child, you're probably feeling frustrated, guilt-ridden, and overwhelmed. At last, Dr. Ross Greene offers help for you and your child. Now updated with new practical information, The Explosive Child lays out a sensitive, practical approach to helping your child at home and school, including: reducing hostility and antagonism between the child and adultsanticipating situations in which the child is most likely to explodecreating an eviornment in which explosions are less likely to occurfocusing less on reward and punishment and more on communication and calloborating problem solvinghelping your child develop the skills to be more flexible and handle frustration more adaptivelyIn The Explosive Child, you'll find ways to regain and optimism and to handle your child's difficulties competently and with compassion. With Dr. Green's realistic, expert advice, you and your child will discover a relationship you can both feel good about.


About the Author
Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. is Director of Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology at the Clinical and Research Program in Pediatric Psychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He lives outside Boston with his wife and daughter.

FROM OUR EDITORS

By teaching parents how to communicate with an inflexible son or daughter who feels there is no way out other than to throw a fit, The Explosive Child miraculously helps families unlearn the habits that lead to incendiary behavior. The book equips parents with the necessary skills to defuse and even prevent the intense situations that all-too-frequently arise with a volatile child.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An explosive child who frequently exhibits severe noncompliance, temper outbursts, and verbal or physical aggression. If this sounds like your child, you're probably feeling frustrated, guilt-ridden, and overwhelmed. At last, Dr. Ross Greene offers help for you and your child. Now updated with new practical information, The Explosive Child lays out a sensitive, practical approach to helping your child at home and school, including: reducing hostility and antagonism between the child and adultsanticipating situations in which the child is most likely to explodecreating an eviornment in which explosions are less likely to occurfocusing less on reward and punishment and more on communication and calloborating problem solvinghelping your child develop the skills to be more flexible and handle frustration more adaptively

In The Explosive Child, you'll find ways to regain and optimism and to handle your child's difficulties competently and with compassion. With Dr. Green's realistic, expert advice, you and your child will discover a relationship you can both feel good about.

SYNOPSIS

Almost everyone knows an explosive child, one whose temper and extreme noncompliance leaves his or her parents standing helpless in fear, frustration, and guilt. Now, in The Explosive Child, Dr. Ross Greene, the noted therapist who has worked with thousands of these children, offers parents good news: These kids aren't bad; rather, they suffer from a physiological deficiency in frustration tolerance and flexibility. This compassionate book helps parents grasp the underlying problems of explosive children, defuse explosive episodes, and reduce tension and hostility levels for the entire family by providing invaluable tools for coping with this behavioral disorder.

FROM THE CRITICS

Edward Hallowell