Hold on to Your Kids

‘Maté’s book will make you examine your behaviour in a new light’ Guardian

‘Bold, wise and deeply moral. [Maté] is a healer to be cherished’ Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine

Children take their lead from their friends: being ‘cool’ matters more than anything else. Shaping values, identity and codes of behaviour, peer groups are often far more influential than parents.

But this situation is far from natural, and it can be dangerous – it undermines family cohesion, interferes with healthy development, and fosters a hostile and sexualised youth culture. Children end up becoming conformist, anxious and alienated.

In this updated edition of Hold on to Your Kids, acclaimed physician and bestselling author Gabor Maté joins forces with Gordon Neufeld, a psychologist with a reputation for penetrating to the heart of complex parenting. Together they pinpoint the causes of this breakdown and offer practical advice on how to ‘reattach’ to sons and daughters, establish the hierarchy at home, make children feel safe and understood, and earn back your children's loyalty and love. A brand new chapter addresses the unprecedented parenting challenges posed by the wake of the global pandemic.

By helping to reawaken our instincts, Maté and Neufeld empower parents to be what nature intended: a true source of contact, security and warmth for their children.