How Children Succeed

How Children Succeed is fundamentally a book about what it means to prepare a child for a good life. Its central insight is that we have been measuring and cultivating the wrong things. Success is not primarily a function of intelligence or test scores — it is a function of character: the ability to persist through difficulty, regulate one's emotions, bounce back from failure, stay curious, and maintain hope even under pressure. These qualities can be deliberately developed through the right environments, relationships, and experiences. The most powerful investment a family, school, or society can make is not in cognitive training but in creating the conditions — safety, nurturing, manageable challenge, and genuine belief in a child's potential — under which character can flourish.

Paul Tough is an American journalist and author known for writing about education, poverty, and child development. He has contributed extensively to publications including The New York Times Magazine and has served as an editor at Harper's Magazine. His reporting is characterized by deep immersion in research and a talent for translating complex social science into accessible, narrative-driven storytelling. In addition to How Children Succeed, he is the author of Whatever It Takes and Helping Children Succeed, which extends the research and policy arguments of this book.