Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-316) and index.

Over the past thirty years, the self-esteem movement has promoted the credo in American homes and classrooms that unconditional positive feedback is what children need to make them feel better about themselves. But even though we are raising our children to feel good, the hard truth is that they have never been more depressed. In fact, depression strikes a quarter of all children today. To examine and reverse this trend, Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., a leading psychologist who has been studying depression for three decades, developed a long-term research study with his colleagues called the Penn Depression Prevention Project. Their startling findings prove that teaching children to challenge their pessimistic thoughts can "immunize" them against depression

The Optimistic Child offers parents and teachers the tools developed in this study to teach children of all ages life skills that transform helplessness into mastery and bolster genuine self-esteem. Learning the skills of optimism not only reduces the risk of depression but boosts school performance, improves physical health, and provides children with the self-reliance they need as they approach the teenage years and adulthood