I am going to continue my review of parenting books with the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain. I first read this book several years ago and it really spoke to me since it described myself as well as most members of my family.
"Quiet" is about the role of introverts in a society that values extroverts. One third to one half of our population are introverts. The definition of an introvert is complex. Jung's definition is that an introverts are drawn to the world of thoughts and feelings while extroverts are drawn to the world of people and activities. Introverts need time to be alone while extroverts need to socialize. This does not mean that introverts are anti social or shy. It means that they prefer to get together with friends one on one while extroverts like large social gatherings.
I think this book is valuable to parents because it helps define some different temperaments which will help them understand themselves and their children better. Sometimes parents are concerned about their children when they don't want a large birthday party or that they leave a social gathering to go and read in their room. These are characteristics of introverts. Our society values extroverts which puts pressure on parents and children. Understand that your children might be different from you as well as well as from their siblings and that you may need to adjust your parenting accordingly.
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