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Reviews
Quiet Kids: Help Your Introverted Child Succeed in an Extroverted World by Christine Fonseca
saarahn's review against another edition
3.0
A helpful book to flick through. Very repetitive at times with unnecessary chapter summaries. I felt the book might prove handy as I work with young children who can't always vocalise their needs.
The author speaks of her own experiences as a young child which I felt wasn't needed at times as it stole the focus of the chapter. Also one could question the reliability, as it relied on memory and her own biases. I've not read books regarding quiet, introverted children. But, I do feel that it needed to be said that not all introverts are quiet individuals. Just as it needed to be said that introverted children are a lot like introverted adults- which, in a way, negates the purpose of this book.
The author speaks of her own experiences as a young child which I felt wasn't needed at times as it stole the focus of the chapter. Also one could question the reliability, as it relied on memory and her own biases. I've not read books regarding quiet, introverted children. But, I do feel that it needed to be said that not all introverts are quiet individuals. Just as it needed to be said that introverted children are a lot like introverted adults- which, in a way, negates the purpose of this book.
blueeyedshook's review
3.0
Lots of great thoughts, but little to no practical steps.
Never had it occurred to me that the world is more geared toward extroverts than introverts, but it is amazingly true. Schools, churches, many jobs are geared toward those who are extroverted and essentially, subconsciously tell introverts they need to work on their extrovert skills.
This book opened a lot of thoughts on introverted tendencies. My husband and I are both introverts with 2 introverts and 2 extrovert kids. Which I have adapted a lot toward extrovertedness, this book certainly opened my eyes to the fact that it is a temperament that will always be mine. And there’s nothing wrong with it! One is not better than another. They just need different things. I love this outlook.
However I found the book repetitive. She consistently writes, “like I said before” or something similar nearly every page. The overall concept is eye opening if you’ve never studied the two temperaments much, but otherwise, the practicality was lacking for me.
Some of the tips for parenting introverts were basic good parenting techniques. Nothing new. Sometimes the answer was “healthy habits” like a good diet and sleep patterns. Um, that’s just human need! I don’t see how that is specifically better for introverts than any other human.
Same with the classroom techniques. They are high minded with little to no practical ideas for application. Example: “Focus on process, instead of grades and testing.” But unfortunately that’s not how the school system is set up. That works for homeschoolers like me but there were no practical ideas on how to make it happen.
The quizzes weren’t useful, and I agree with another review who said they borderline on condescending.
Lastly I think it would have been helpful if in the subtitle, it explained that this was parents and teachers. I am a homeschooling parent so both sections work for me, but if I was only a parent, half of the book would have been less helpful for me.
Never had it occurred to me that the world is more geared toward extroverts than introverts, but it is amazingly true. Schools, churches, many jobs are geared toward those who are extroverted and essentially, subconsciously tell introverts they need to work on their extrovert skills.
This book opened a lot of thoughts on introverted tendencies. My husband and I are both introverts with 2 introverts and 2 extrovert kids. Which I have adapted a lot toward extrovertedness, this book certainly opened my eyes to the fact that it is a temperament that will always be mine. And there’s nothing wrong with it! One is not better than another. They just need different things. I love this outlook.
However I found the book repetitive. She consistently writes, “like I said before” or something similar nearly every page. The overall concept is eye opening if you’ve never studied the two temperaments much, but otherwise, the practicality was lacking for me.
Some of the tips for parenting introverts were basic good parenting techniques. Nothing new. Sometimes the answer was “healthy habits” like a good diet and sleep patterns. Um, that’s just human need! I don’t see how that is specifically better for introverts than any other human.
Same with the classroom techniques. They are high minded with little to no practical ideas for application. Example: “Focus on process, instead of grades and testing.” But unfortunately that’s not how the school system is set up. That works for homeschoolers like me but there were no practical ideas on how to make it happen.
The quizzes weren’t useful, and I agree with another review who said they borderline on condescending.
Lastly I think it would have been helpful if in the subtitle, it explained that this was parents and teachers. I am a homeschooling parent so both sections work for me, but if I was only a parent, half of the book would have been less helpful for me.
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