Customer Reviews

Lizzy's Do's and Don'ts

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

 

 

A wonderful book for mothers and daughters to read together. Lizzie and her mom make a wonderful pair that not only my child, but I also love to read about over and over again. Do I love this book? Yes I Do Do Do!

From the first time I saw it, I absolutely loved this book -- so much so, I scanned the barcode on my phone and immediately ordered it from Amazon.

In the book, Lizzy's Mom is always telling her "Don't." "Don't shout indoors. Don't tickle so hard. Don't leave your party shoes in the yard. Don't take the deck and lose one card. Don't, don't, don't..." Fed up, Lizzie turns the tables on her mother and gives her a list of "don'ts" of her own. "Don't make me wear that yellow dress. Don't always say my hair's a mess. Don't say no when you could say yes. Don't, don't, don't!" Finally mother and daughter sit down together and decide to stop saying "don't" to each other and come up with a list of "Do's" instead.

The litany of do's and don'ts are darling and familiar to any parent. The turnaround from don'ts to do's choked me up -- it's just all rang so true and was simply lovely. The moral is clear and poignant: instead of harping on the things our kids do wrong and telling them not to do them (nag nag nag), focus on the wonderful things they do and encourage them to do those things.

(This, by the way, is the advice any good cognitive behavioral psychologist would give as well. When you are always correcting your child, you may eliminate certain behaviors but they still don't know what they are supposed to do instead. If instead you focus on the good behavior and encourage the things they do right, they'll do that more and eventually most of the bad behavior will be choked out.)

My 4-year-old daughter absolutely loves this book and completely identifies with Lizzy.

However I bought this book as much for my wife as for my daughter. Lizzy's Mom reminded me so much of my wife. This book really helped her reframe her dialogue with our daughter (and sons for that matter) in a much more positive way. Since she started emphasizing the "do's" instead of the "don'ts," everyone has been happier (especially her).

I have this book and the CD with the song of the same name. I am an elementary school music teacher. I use this book with my younger students as a lesson on behavior. They LOVE the song/book. They would listen to it every week if I let them. I would say that everyone up to the 2nd grade LOVES this book!

Lizzy's mom is always correcting her. "Dont', don't don't." Lizzie gets fed up and tells her mom "Don't always say don't." She comes out with her list of don'ts. Finally Mom and Lizzy tell each other what they would like the other to "do." Very charming. It teaches kids that they have a voice. And it lets parents know, in a nonthreatening way, that they can make mistakes,too.

This is my daughter's favorite book. While she is only 2 years old she already knows the passages and anticipates them with joy. There are good lessons in the story for both parents and children. Some things toddlers get upset about may seem unimportant to adults but this book puts them in perspective. It is thoughtful and thought provoking and I anticipate it will be a favorite for amny years.