This book gave me nightmares! It's not really meant to, Gavin de Becker's motive is really to open the eyes of parents and to ease their worries. The concept behind the book is two fold:
1) Worrying can actually endanger you or your child because you may dismiss real (instinctual) fear as more worrying and not react in time to a dangerous situation.
2) Our 'Traditional' Lessons, such as "Never talk to strangers" don't really fit into today's society.

I read one of Gavin De Becker's other titles on a similar bent; "The Gift of Fear" and finished it in one night. That book was targeted towards adults, whereas this one is relating more to children and parents. The style of writing is the same as his other book, easy to read, gripping and hard to put down. This one did take me more than a single night, some of the real life examples will pierce you to the core and can be hard to read if you're a parent.

I felt confident that I could protect my infant daughter from all harm until my day care provider, a trusted friend, decided to retire. I was going to have to INTERVIEW people and pick someone to spend 40 hours a week with my child. My confidence as a protector took a sharp hit at that time and as I thought of the future it got even more deflated.
I was particularly worried about raising my daughter in a way that empowered her to follow her instincts and protect herself when I wasn't around. Gavin De Becker addresses all of these issues as well as others that haunt parents' dreams, kidnappings, molestation, and more. This book is packed with well thought out, sage advice on raising your child to not only survive, but thrive in this modern world. The most amazing thing about this book is how it makes you think differently, worry less and trust your instincts more.

The only negative I can say about this book is that if you've read "The Gift of Fear", the Author uses some of the same examples in this book. They are just as pertinent here and I have to say that there are plenty of real life examples he uses that are totally new and terrifying. While this book probably will give some parents nightmares, it also teaches them how to deal with monsters and nightmares that walk around in daylight and are a real threat to our kids.





Recommended: Yes