Podcast: Raising a Child Into a Happy Adult

Dr. Edward (Ned) Hallowell, a child and adult psychiatrist and graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School, is the founder of The Hallowell Centers in Sudbury and Needham, Massachusetts and in New York City. He was a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty from 1983 until he retired from academics in 2004 to devote his full professional attention to his clinical practice, lectures and the writing of books. He has authored eighteen books on various psychological topics, including attention deficit disorder, the power of the human connection, the childhood roots of happiness in life, parenting, marriage, methods of forgiving others, dealing with worry and managing excessive busyness. Dr. Hallowell has offices in New York City and Sudbury. The New York Hallowell Center specializes in diagnosing and treating cognitive and emotional problems in both children and adults, with particular expertise in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD).

Strong parenting is a theme about which Dr. Hallowell is passionate. He speaks frequently on the topic and his book, The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness: Five Steps to help Kids Create and Sustain Lifelong Joy (Ballantine, 2002), provides parents with concrete detail about how to create the kind of a childhood that will most likely lead to a happy and satisfying adulthood. The book is based on extensive research and empirical data, but it is written in a conversational, anecdotal tone. The book is a warm and lively celebration of childhood, as well as a guide to creating the kind of childhood that children really need. Other writing on parenting includes When You Worry about the Child You Love, (Simon & Schuster, 1996) and Finding the Heart of the Child (National Association of Independent Schools, 1997 with Michael Thompson, Ph.D.). As a fun way to help adults and kids talk about how every person is different, Dr. Hallowell published his first children's book in 2004, A Walk in the Rain with a Brain (Regan Books/Harper Collins). It conveys the message, "No brain is the same. No brain is the best. Each brain finds its own special way." Dr. Hallowell's newest book is Shine: Using Brain Science to Bring Out the Best in Your People (Harvard Business School Press, 2011).

Dr. Hallowell lives in the Boston area with his wife, Sue, a social worker, and their three children, Lucy, Jack and Tucker. His greatest love is spending time with them, doing whatever they want to do. Each year the family spends one month at the aptly-named Lake Doolittle, where they connect and slow down.