A Revolutionary Approach to Raising Resilient Children. In this book, Martin Seligman offers parents, teachers, and coaches a well-validated program to prevent depression in children. He shows adults how to teach children the skills of optimism that can help them combat sadness, achieve more on the playing field and at school and improve their physical health. Learning the skills of optimism not only reduces the risk of depression but boosts school performance and provides children with the self-reliance they need as they approach the teenage years and beyond.