Customer Reviews

10 Days to a Less Distracted Child: The Breakthrough Program that Gets Your Kids to Listen, Learn, Focus, and Behave

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought 10 days to a Less Distracted Child at the same time as 10 days to a Less Defiant Child. I decided to read less distracted first, because frankly, I was angry with my 6-year old son. He is in kindergarten, reading at a high second-grade level, can add and subtract, and was getting daily reports saying he was NOT completing his work at school. My very bright son was getting labeled a trouble-maker and a "slow" child. I took his actions as defiance, but after reading Dr. Bernstein's book, I realize he is just EXTREMELY distractable. And, I really recognized myself in his descriptions too. On both sides - the exhausted, over-reacting parent and the distracted little kid.

As a parent with ADHD, it is highly likely my son has it as well. This book helped me to slow down and recognize that my son is trying his best, but completely lacks the skills to know how to keep himself on track. And that is my job as his parent to teach him.

This book is very easy to read, the steps are easy to follow, (even for a very distractable mom like me), and they make an IMMEDIATE difference. My son started bringing home silver stars (the highest they give for behavior) the day after I started using the steps in the book. I highly recommend this book to any parent who is struggling with a child who is under-performing . Also, if you have a defiant child, maybe you should read this book first and see if they are really just distracted.

I've read many, many books on ADHD and distractibility (Hallowell/Ratey, Murphy, etc.). While those books supplied much-needed background info -- and I urge you to read them as well -- this book gives you ACTUAL STEPS TO TAKE when -- or before -- you're at wit's end.

My creative, intelligent, distractible son has had a lot of the issues described in this book: social interaction, homework trouble, depression and confidence. Although this is a "10-day" program, I urge you to read the entire book first, just to get an overview. It's full of great insight and will help you understand why/how your child learns differently.

I"m a "Type A" mom -- a list-maker, neat freak, get-it-done-now person -- and it's literally taken years to understand my son. This book gave me concrete ways to help my child navigate a world that's not set up for his way of approaching things.

NOTE: Check out "Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World" as well, if your child is particularly creative and "visual" as well as being distractible.

I have a preteen child and a teenager with distractibility. The younger one definitely has ADHD and the older one worries too much. I have been dreading facing another school year with my kids avoiding schoolwork and homework. Now after reading this book, I see how much I was doing wrong when dealing with my kids. This book is packed with solutions and, most importantly, showed me the most helpful ways to get my kids to apply them. I was thrilled with Dr. Bernstein's other book, 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child and these two books are simply outstanding!

This book is great for that parent who is at their wits end with their kids behavior issues... if you are tired of yelling, threatening, spanking etc.. and having it go NO WHERE!! Then read this book. Nothing works all of the time but this book gave me "his" view. How he is thinking/reasoning and suggestions on how to deal with it. I don't have to yell(unless it's to get everyone's attention) I make suggestions and try and get him to tell me what the problem is or how to fix it. It doesn't work all the time but it does help considerably!!!

Dr. Bernstein obviously gets it. He clearly understands these distractible kids and why they do what they do. He also understands their parents and the challenges that they face. More importantly, he understands what they can do about it! This book is packed with practical tips and strategies that parents can use to help their distractible kids do better in school and at home. Although obviously this applies mostly to ADHD kids, there are other reasons why a child could have trouble with inattention, and Dr. Bernstein's suggestions are applicable to them as well. He really tries to help parents understand why their kids do what they do, and also normalizes their own sometimes unproductive reactions. There are other books out there on this topic, but few of them are as thorough or helpful.

This is an extremely simplistic book, written for people who have done no previous reading on the topic. There is nothing new inside it. Moreover, I feel like I am being talked down to. For example, in the section on homework, the author describes three types of parents, the "passive," the "sledgehammer", and the "calm, firm, noncontrolling." The way the book is written, the reader is either passive or sledgehammer, and the goal is to be the third. How simplistic is that! Perhaps there are a few people who can relate to being passive or sledgehammer-like, but most people are more complex, and many of us have tried to be the third for a long time--and that hasn't made the homework any easier. Tips for getting the kid to do his/her homework are nothing that I haven't already tried. Hire a tutor. Keep organized notebooks. Find out the homework policy. Monitor your child's homework. Nothing new or revelatory. I wish I didn't waste my time or money here.

This book has helped me so much. It feels like the book it is actually talking to me. I really recommed it even if you don't have anyone with adhd or add. Really good. If you are a parent that snap quickly you need to read this book.

I picked up this book after feeling frustrated with all the things that aren't working with my 10 year old with ADHD (primarily inattentive)/GAD/dysgraphia. Up to this point, the 5 ADHD medications we've tried haven't worked out due to a variety of emotional and physical side effects. So I figured this was worth a try. As other reviewers have noted, this isn't ground breaking and it's not a blueprint for an easy fix. It doesn't give you a step by step plan to "fix" your child, because realistically, you won't be able to. It does give you some reminders (you are not the only one who has this challenge; your kid isn't just being lazy: aim for progress, not perfection: keep an open line of communication with teachers; consider medications; use positive reinforcement rather than punishment, etc.). Another thing to note is that this book does not only address distraction due to ADHD, but the other related conditions that can cause distractability: anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, autism/Aspberger's Disorder,and other psychological and medical issues. And if your kid has more than one of these challenges, it may be hard to determine which is causing the distractability (or maybe all are). It helped me understand just how tough it is for him to "stay focused" on what he is supposed to be doing.

I'll definitely be incorporating some of the ideas in this book, especially the letting go of the anger when my child doesn't do what I've asked him to five times in a row, as well as breaking tasks down into smaller segments, giving reminders, rewarding improvements, being flexible (like letting him try listening to music while doing spelling homework because maybe the background noise will help him focus) and understanding that there is no quick fix, we are all in this for the long haul, so we might as well all relax a little bit!

The tone of this book is great. It's friendly, chock full of (anonymous) anecdotes of patients he's treated over the years, and it's very logically laid out. I did find myself skipping some sections that weren't relevant to me ("overcoming perils with peers", and some of "heading off homework wars"), but I do this with most non fiction books anyway. If you are dealing with a distracted child, this might be a good book to add to your collection.

I bought the book when the teachers told me for the fourth year in a row that my child was having problems focussing. After taking my son to the doctor for the third time, I didn't think my son had ADHD and I wasn't ready to medicate him. I found that the author's approach was spot on to what I had found to have worked. His day-by-day chapters organize the book nicely; Chapter 6 (Perils with Peers) exactly described what I had observed. His explaination of how distractible children perceive their world, and how they can get discouraged and "stressed out" is very helpful. This book helps with an organized approach to help change the behaviour.

The book was delivered 1 month (!) after I have purchased it. Plus, the book does not contain any breakthrough advices; it should be considered more like a general reflection on the subject of distraction. Would not recommend it.