Elisa Medhus, M.D.

Dr. Elisa Medhus is a veteran physician who built and operated a successful private medical practice in Houston Texas for 13 years. Her busy practice served thousands of families. She is also the mother of five children ages 15 through 26, some of whom have special challenges like Tourette’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder, learning differences and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

With over 19 years’ experience parenting her own children, several years’ experience home-schooling her children and thirteen years’ experience as a family physician, Dr. Medhus is uniquely qualified to address the concerns of parents.

Over the last several years, Dr. Medhus began to notice that children, including her own, seem more influenced by their peers and the pop culture than by their parents. Seeing the negative effect this had on families, children, schools and communities, she embarked on a lengthy interview process to try to determine the cause of this destructive phenomenon.

Based on the interview results and her own experience and expertise, she decided that by giving children the tools they need to make responsible choices—choices that are governed by their sense of right and wrong rather than by their need for approval—then these influences would no longer hold such power over them. Parent would no longer be obsolete. Children would grow to think for themselves, and the world would become a safer, saner place.

In her first book, Raising Children Who Think for Themselves, Medhus gives a detailed explanation of this concept and provides practical solutions for raising self-directed children and, therefore, a self-directed world. The book has earned numerous prestigious awards including the Parent’s Choice Award, the National Parenting Center Award, and the National Parenting Publications Award. It is widely available in bookstores and online booksellers and has been translated into more than six languages.

In her second book, Hearing is Believing, How Words Can Make or Break Our Kids, Dr. Medhus argues that even seemingly harmless phrases such as "You're such a good girl" can encourage children to become approval seekers, thwart their ability to reason, or both. Over time, these children become less inclined to trust their parents' guidance and internalize their values. Exposing potentially harmful words and phrases, many that may surprise readers, this book suggests language changes that are simple to implement and keep up. All of her books are available through most online and retail booksellers.

In high demand as a keynote speaker and as a guest on TV and radio, Dr. Medhus regularly discusses the issues and problems facing today’s families.