I found this book to be a helpful expansion and explanation of different types of perfectionism. As a parent, I hope to keep an eye out for this in my children. But even for myself, I recognized some perfectionism that setting goals, short-term, mid-term and long-term would help with as they describe. ( )

This book is written in such a way that an untrained individual can find a way to address any one of the 5 types of perfectionism, and will suggest how to gently guide someone out of their unhealthy perfectionistic tendencies. The authors break out the five types of perfectionism, explain what they look like, and then offer strategies to guide a family, educator, or clinician through the process of helping and empowering someone in overcoming perfectionism. I'm not sure this would be entirely helpful for a clinician, as they would already be trained in working with children with perfectionist issues, and I was hoping for more parenting techniques than were provided. The options contained within are things I employ in my homeschool and home setting already. The tables are uncomplicated, and each chapter is easy to refer to and put into practice. ( )

This is a very easy to read and helpful book about perfectionism in children. It has easy to understand explanations and practical advice. ( )

This is essentially a text book to help parents and teachers notice, communicate about, and hopefully correct perfectionistic tendencies in children. The authors to a good job of laying out all the information in a clear way and providing lots of resources for different expertise levels and environments. It's an extremely practical guide that is probably not intended to be read straight through like a novel. However, that's how I read it for the purpose of this review and it was frankly a bit dry and repetitive. For this reason, I would recommend other readers to simply skip around to the areas that are most relevant to their situations and not worry about completing it.

The resources list in the back I thought was especially helpful as there were a number of games and books that can make correcting troubling mental habits easier and even fun for the whole family. ( )

Whether you are a parent of a child who has anxiety due to a yearning to be perfect or an educator with children in your classroom with this issue, this book, "Letting Go of Perfect" is extremely helpful! Authors Adelson & Wilson discuss exactly what the different types of perfectionists are and explain the differences between the five examples. The authors dispel myths around perfectionism and also provide wonderful strategies for both the classroom and home that work best to help those who struggle with this often unhealthy behavior. However, it is important to note that they are quick to explain there are some youngsters who can handle the yearning to be perfect better than others by learning to modify their own goals and expectations. Other young perfectionists become tearful, anxious and depressed. It is important to reach these children as early as possible to help them modify their behavior.

The authors explain that children who tend to be perfectionists often see everything as either good or bad. Many have unrealistic expectations. They suggest that both parents and educators focus on what the child learns rather than on the grade. There are suggestions in the book to help children dismiss unrealistic expectations. One suggestion is to read them or have them read biographies of people who have failed before they have succeeded. For children they call perfectionist procrastinators, they recommend that subtasks be given to them with realistic time frames. There are many wonderful and helpful suggestions including to bring in the help of a licensed professional who can provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy modifications.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who knows a child who is struggling with this issue. It would be important to tell their parents or educator about "Letting Go of Perfection". It is well written, backed up by many scientific studies and clearly its authors are highly educated in their areas of expertise. I have a family member that I am going to give this book to whose child struggles with this very issue. Thank you Library Thing! ( )