Reviewed by Jennie Lindon, early years consultant
In this revised edition of her book, Rosemary Roberts skilfully brings alive how young children develop a sense of themselves. The chapters have a reader-friendly layout and the family story woven throughout the book illustrates the main points in a very real way. The content is gleaned from the author's extensive experience with families in the PEEP project in Oxfordshire.
The book is especially effective because the author shows such empathy towards the feelings and dilemmas of caring adults. However, the flow of chapters balances the feelings and behaviour of children as well as that of the adults.
There are some practical sections about dealing with children's behaviour in a way that is respectful of their feelings. The whole approach of the book should be an excellent support for adults. The author shows how children's development of a healthy level of self-esteem is built up one step at a time, through experiences with important people in their lives, as well as developmentally-appropriate approaches to their learning.
My only reservation was that, since the term 'self-esteem' is in the title, it would have been useful to have a discussion about what the phrase means early in the book. The term is sometimes misunderstood to be about self-aggrandisement, rather than emotional wellness. However, the meaning did emerge through the rich array of examples and suggestions in the book.
