Customer Reviews

How to Parent

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Twenty-four years ago, a friend sent me a copy of this book. My first child was a few months old. I am the oldest of five children and had a fair amount of experience with young children who had been raised in a loving and independence-oriented family. I also had extensive college-level instruction in psychology and believed most of the theory I had been exposed to did not match my experience with living human beings. Much of what Dr. Dodson wrote about confirmed my own beliefs about the rearing of children. Perhaps that was what attracted me to his work immediately. Here was a psychologist who believed that human parents have instincts and should listen to them. Far beyond that, his words enlightened me to matters that might seem common sensical to others, but hadn't occurred to me: a child's play is her work and his environment is his learning laboratory. Others helped me to overcome some of the ubiquitous guilt that is the world of parenting. But most of all, Dr. Dodson put into words the feelings in my heart with his 10 commandments. Our daughters, now 24 and 20, are not perfect beings. But they are happy, stable, interesting, resilient and loving women. Some of the credit for that goes to Dr. Dodson's work and words. When I learn of a couple about to give birth, I recommend this book or give them a copy. Not only are the concepts important, but the book affords an entertaining and pleasant reading experience. Thank you Dr. Dodson.

I bought this book in the early 70's when my youngest daughter was born and I became a single parent. I found Dodson's methods made complete sense and felt natural to me, encouraging the practical use of his techniques (his 10 commandments) which were as much for my benefit as my daughter's. Now at the age of 29, my daughter is happy and un-afraid of life's many challenges with a powerful commitment to personal growth. She is definitely one of my favorite people and the amazing thing is that in spite of financial hardships, she looks back on her childhood and as one where she was blessed to have me as her mother. I have Dr Dobson's book to thank for some of that as his methods helped to keep me sane through all the madness of my highly un-orthodox lifestyle. Strangely enough, I have also found his techniques to work perfectly well while managing my employees. Kind of "The One Minute Manager" (Spencer Johnson & Kenneth Blanchard) for parents.

This is the absolutely best childrearing book I have read in the past 30 years. I credit Dr. Dodson with much of my children's best parenting. They have turned out to be incredibly wonderful people, and I am thrilled that this book is available again to a new generation of struggling-to-be-good parents. This book really took a lot of the guesswork out of the task for me. If your own childhood left you with a less than satisfying foundation to be a parent: get this book. It will make you a better person and it will give your kids what they need: Good Parenting -- no, GREAT parenting!

I have to agree with Kathy. I bought this book in 1972 some months after my son was born. It is the only book I ever found that actually gave me the confidence to parent. It helped me to know what to do, as well as telling me when it was age appropriate or psychologically appropriate to do it. I gave my copy to someone years ago but the information in it has stayed with me all these years -- because it worked! I became a better parent and a more patient one too. Buy Spock for your child's physical care, but definitely Dodson for her/his emotional and psychological care. Saved my sanity, too!

There is no other book I recommend higher than this one for parenting to family and friends. I majored in child education and sociology and therefore, read many, many books on child development. I bought this book in 1975 when my first child was born, along with many others. I found Dr. Dodson's book to be the most thorough and the most interesting of them all. I learned more from that one book than all the others put together. I found what Dr. Dodson said made so much sense. He helped me to understand each year and/or developmental stage through the months of the first year, and then each year/stage up to the age of 5 years. Toilet training, discipline, temper tantrums, teaching regard/respect for others, the best time to take that bottle/pacifier away, a parent's emotions and how to understand your feelings... are a very few subjects in a book holding a wealth of great information.

I raised 3 boys and 2 stepchildren and had to deal with a divorce. I truly believe that the knowledge and practices I gained and used from Dr. Dodson offered my children a better parent and a better life. I raised them all to be independent, imaginative, moral, responsible, courteous and happy children. Sometimes our life was hard, we didn't have very many material things, some of them went through rough teen years, and those that went to college, worked their way through. They are now all in their 20's and each of them, though very different in personality, reflect these important values. Thank you, Dr. Dodson, you made my life and my chilrens' so much easier.

Dr. Dodson wrote another book entitled "How to Father" which covers the years after 5 into the teens. As I remember, "How to Father" was a continuation of How to Parent. It was not just for fathers.

Buy this book. Utilize it. I used all of Dr. Dodson's methods on raising an infant. Toilet training was easier, because I knew what signs and what age to start trying and knew when to stop if it wasn't the right time. Taking the bottle/pacifier away was a snap because of the timing. Knowing what to do when my child threw a fit kept it from becoming a horrible time... it even became enjoyable, because I could see my child learning and dealing with disappointments in a heathly way. I could go on and on about the successes I've had because of this book. It should be in every parent's library and in every school!

You will find that you will pull this book out with eagerness as your child grows to review and prepare for what is coming next.

(Forgive my English grammar, it is my second language)... I am currently reading my parents' spanish version of this book "El Arte de Ser Padres" from Dr. Dodson (I am currently a 3 yrs. kid father) and as I go on from chapter to chapter I just can't believe how good this book is.
The fun part of all this is that I used to go through this book (that has been in my parent's book shelves for 30 years now!) when I was a kid because of the fun cartoons it included, but I never thought it was such a well written and childern's-psychology-knowledge based book until a couple months ago when my mother took it out of the book shelve when I asked: "What should I do when my son hits someone else?"... I started reading one chapter and from then on I could not stop.
It is also amazing how all this theory still makes perfect sense 30 or 35 years later. My only regret is that I did not start reading it three years ago, when my son was still unborn. If you have kids, buy and read and save this book, for it deserves six stars instead of five. Regards!

Dr. Dodson, a child psychologist by training, was our mentor in raising our three children starting with our oldest in 1970. When I tried to find the book recently, I was surprised to learn it was out of print. Fortunately, I found a copy at Amazon.com--I wanted three to give to each of my children as they begin to raise their children.

At the time of our first introduction to Dr. Dodson, Dr. Spock was the guru of many, but as a pediatrician Spock was not versed in the psychological/emotional side of child-rearing as was Dodson.

What was valuable to me was understanding the changes and expectations that come with each age as children mature from toddlerhood to teenagers to young adults. Dodson's "How to Parent" should be required reading for everyone who has children and who cares about them. As he stated, children don't come with an instruction manual nor do parents instinctively know how to be good parents. We can avoid a lot of parenting mistakes by learning from the best. The advice in this book is priceless.

I recently came across another of Dr. Dodson's books, "How to Grandparent," an equally exciting book.

My mom bought this book a year before I was born in 1975 and always told me it was the best book on parenting she ever read and to "forget Dr. Spock" (or something to that effect). I don't know how much different a parent she would have been without this book but my mom was in a league of her own so for whatever part this book played I thank Dr. Dodson.

I haven't read the book but as a product of a parent who used it as her only "parenting book" I echo the sentiments of an earlier reviewer and say 5 stars isn't enough.

A friend just had a dear little boy, and I wanted to send the right gift. I thought this book was out of print as it had been in the past. Imagine my delight when I find it here, being given the credit it deserves. I have a photo of my own six week old son from 36 years ago--being cradled by his dad in the right hand, while Dad balanced and read the How to Parent book, held in his left hand.
Both my children are now responsible, generous, successful and loving adults.
As an only child myself with no experience in parenting, I could never have been the parent I wanted to be without the practical wisdom from within those pages.

I think the parents owe it to their children to read this book. My son's life will be definitely different (in a very good way), due to this book. It provide a simple, common sense, enjoyable way to deal with many problems that new and not that new parents are facing: how to raise, educate a child, what to do when she cries, when she has tantrums, when she asks questions, actually everything is covered. It is easy to read, in short chapters of approx 50 pages for each age. You don't even need to read it all from the beginning; just read the 50 pages related to the child's age. Some things might be dated, like the watching TV section; but then, the book has been written in the early `70s. Briefly, this is the best parenting advice I've ever received and my son is lucky that I've got this book from his godmother. (by the way, I've already bought more than 10 copies that I offered to all new parents that I know)