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Got An Angry Kid? Parenting Spike: A Seriously Difficult Child

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This book is a lifeline to families where a "seemingly incorrigible" child has the household in a tailspin. Here is a book that lays out, clearly and concisely a step-by-step program for the parent(s)so that they can start to do things that work, to scrap the stuff that doesn't work and to create real change. This program is consistent with tried-and-true family systems theory - when one or two members of a group change, the whole system, even Spike (the book's prototype of everyone's nightmare child) HAS to change as well.
Dr. Andrew Gibson has a way with words and writes with the sort of humor that keeps your attention. But the book is no joke. Gibson takes desperate parents by the hand and supports them through a straight-forward process of serious change. There is no blame here, either at parent or child, just the here-and-now work of making things better.
The book is for parents. It is also for counselors, clergy, and anyone who works with families of difficult kids. Every probation officer, school psychologist, guidance counselor and the like should have piles of this book in their offices, ready to hand out to parents of kids whose behaviors get them into trouble.
"Got an Angry Kid?" grew out of work that Dr. Gibson has done for well over 20 years with parents of kids who were, as he calls it, "seriously difficult." I'm delighted that it is now available to all of us as a book.
If you know an angry kid, buy this book!
Virginia M. Fulton, MA, LPC

Got An Angry Kid?
Parenting Spike: A Seriously Difficult Child
Author: Andrew D. Gibson, PhD
Publisher: Loving Healing Press
ISBN: 978-1932690897

Kids-raising them and caring for them can be pretty challenging. Add a psychiatric label or behavioral problem such as ADD, ADHD, bi-polar disorder, oppositional defiance, etc., and parenting can become what seems like a hopeless and insurmountable chore. Dr. Gibson has worked with families of angry children for many years. He has developed an innovative and proven technique in the form of a self help program he calls PACT (Parenting Angry Children and Teens). The author introduces us to Spike and his family, a fictionalized take on the true life experiences of his patients and their families. Case studies of actual families are also explored, covering a wide range of problems and circumstances.

The rest of the book covers the goals you as a parent will work through. These steps are well detailed and clearly explained, along with explicit instructions and helpful hints to get you through. To change your child's behavior, you first need to address your own behavior and the reactions you have to the behavior problems your child exhibits. The 28 steps detailed will probably take about 8-10 weeks to implement, and probably about a year to see the improvement fully in your child. It's not easy, and not a quick fix. But easy solutions and quick fixes do not exist for these situations. There is a chart included so that you can make notes as you work through the goals, and you don't move on to the next step until the one you are working on is satisfactorily completed. By breaking it down this way, a daunting task is made to seem much more doable and less stress inducing.

If you are a parent, counselor, grandparent, clergy member, caregiver, or anyone else who deals with an angry and difficult child, you may well find that this book is a lifeline. If you know someone who could benefit from it, tell them about it or buy it for them. They will thank you for helping them change the life and dynamics of their families.