Customer Reviews

The Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide

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This book is a must for every parent. As a christian parent of a 13 year old daughter and two sons ages 9 and 5 this book is my reference guide for many of my questions. I DO agree with Dr. Dobson's reference about the 13 yr. old daughter and keeping track of her menstrual cycle. I learned through Dr. Dobson that as a woman I totally understand what is like with the mood swings and not being able to control these hormonal imbalances. My daughter is a christian girl with a very regular cycle that is NOT on birth control so I believe the other person that reviewed this book is totally wrong in their statements. Dr. Dobson answers the questions and helps christian parents with parenting question from birth to 18 and I thank him for this wonderful guide. All of us as parents ask the questions he answers but don't know where to turn to get the answers. He does just that for us.

I give it as a gift at all baby showers now!!!

This is a fantastic book for families! As a wife and the mother of 3 young children I often feel like I have missed the mark at the end of the day. Did I do all I could to be a good example for my children? Did I handle that dilemma as best I could? And so on. Many of the topics covered are issues a family faces everyday, with sound, spiritual advice for tackling them. This book is not only for Christian families, Dobson is an advocate for ALL families and provides tools for strentgthening those relationships.

There's alot of great advice in this book, covering many topics. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for direction in marital and family issues. Like any book one reads, don't expect to agree with the author 100% on every issue, overall this is an excellent book with terrific advice and insight. P.S. I don't believe that Elaine ever read the book, and Deana is reading into Dr. Dobson's response. In the segment she refers to, there is no mention of monitoring a daughter's cycle to "be able to tell when the little hussy gets pregnant and then stop her from getting an abortion on the sly." Also, I started my period at the age of 11 and have never missed a month. As anyone knows, it is often the case that if a girl/woman has hormonal related rages, no physical evidence is needed to determine when she is on her period, her short fuse is the only evidence needed. I myself found it very helpful, and easier to remain in control of my emotions, when it was pointed out to me at a young age that my bad moods occurred almost exclusively during my period.

This book is a must for every parent because it's chock full of questions and answers on every subject of parenting you can imagine. Dr. Dobson does a great job with tackling tough issues from a Biblical perspective and sharing practical ways to implement the ideas. The answers are not too lengthy and are organized in such a way that you can find the answer on whatever topic you need quickly and easily.

This is a great book in which Dr. Dobson offers godly advice to parents on a wide range of topics within marriage and the family. I highly recommend it.

This is a great book full of wisdom for parents, especially Christians, who are struggling to raise their children in a depraved world. The book is realistic and tackles issues we deal with as parents in a measured way that combines both Dobson's clinical knowledge and experience and current research as available, as well as his faith. I have not agreed with everything that I have read; that doesn't mean the book hasn't been a help and encouragement to me. The negative reviewers of this book I tend to think are not the target market of the book or are being overly sensitive to the material and its intent.

Some of Dr. Dobson's advice has helped me navigate the rough waters I encountered while working at a school and now being a parent. For example, you don't need to discipline kids for doing "kid things," but rather concentrate on curtailing disobedience/disrespect. Once you grasp this concept then it's relatively easy to categorize their behavior and recognize what really needs to be addressed.

I disagree with a poster's concern about Dr. Dobson suggesting that a parent keep track of their daughter's menstrual cycle: it's not done as a means to control or menace, nor is it some antiquated notion. I think it is a prudent thing to do. You can certainly put your own spin on it, but by all means, show your daughter how to take charge of her body.

I'm sure Dr. Dobson didn't intend for this book to be the only useful tool an adult would utilize. And I don't think you need to be a "Bible Thumper" to appreciate some of the sage advice. This is just another source to turn to when you want ideas or even validation.

Dobson is asked the question: "Q. My child has just entered the adolescent years. What does that mean for me as a parent?"

This is his advice for parents of girls:

"I strongly recommend that parents of strong-willed and rebellious females, especially, quietly keep track of the particulars of their daughters' menstrual cycles. Not only should you record when their periods begin and end each month, but also make a comment or two each day about moods."

Dobson then goes on to say: "I think you will see that the emotional blowups that tear the family apart are cyclical in nature. Premenstrual tension at that age can produce a flurry of skirmishes every 28 days. If you know they are coming, you can retreat to the storm cellar when the wind begins to blow. You can also use this record to teach your girls about premenstrual syndrome and how to cope with it."

Uh-hunh. And how are parents going to find out this information? By rooting through the trash cans in their home to find the evidence? By backing the teenage girl up against the wall and forcing her to tell when she's having a period? And I'm sure that it occurred to Dobson, although he's not mentioned it here, that if you're monitoring your teenage daughter's periods, you might be able to tell when the little hussy gets pregnant and then stop her from getting an abortion on the sly.

Not only is this advice overly invasive, it's stupid. When women begin to menstruate, our cycles are not regular as clockwork as this man apparently believes. Some women never have regular cycles. Oddly enough, if a teenage girl is having regular cycles, that's a pretty strong hint that she's probably taking some form of birth control pill. Dobson apparently got his degrees back in the 1960s, because it's abundantly obvious that he's inadvertently or deliberately clueless about a girl's menstrual cycles.

If, as I suspect, this is the level of advice given in this "Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide," families would do well to stay far away from it. Far from solving problems, this little piece of so-called "advice" seems more likely to cause problems and I'm sure the book is full of little disasters like this.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Dobson wants to dig into a girl's private issue regarding her cycles! This sickens me to no end! This man is really into embarrassment and children (especialy females) is his biggest target!

Trust me! It is highly unusual for a woman's cycle to be so consistent! There are several factors why a woman can skip her period and it has NOTHING to do with pregnancy! It can be due to stress, change in climate, hormonal imbalances, even a plane, train or boat ride can delay it or have it come early. Dobson should have referred to a MEDICAL BOOK instead of going only on his false assumptions!

Now I am surely convinced that the man is a pervert! I wonder how he would approach his daughter when he feels the need to know her private time of the month!