Customer Reviews

New Skills for Frazzled Parents: The Instruction Manual That Should Have Come With Your Child

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I have read a lot of child raising books, and I think this book is very helpful as it succinctly covers most of (what I think) are the most important topics. It is 129 pages, though is fairly large print, has charts, and bulleted items, and is easy to read/ refer back to. It is written by Dr. Daniel Amen, a child psychiatrist.

There are 25 chapters encompassed in this 129 page book. Thus each topic is quickly, and succinctly covered in an easy to read format. Some chapter titles are "Different Parenting Styles, Why Children Struggle, Why Parents Struggle, Clear Steps to Improve the Quality of your relationship with your Child, Managing Public Misbehavior, Reinforcing your child's Positive Behavior, etc. There are also checklists to check for different types of ADD/ADHD

Some points in the book are:

1. "Special Time is the Best Investment you can make with your Children"

The book also discusses, goals for parents, and children, common traps, Family Rules which Dr. Amen suggests are posted in the house (Tell the Truth, No Arguing with Parents, Respect each other's Property, Do what Mom and Dad say the First Time, etc.)

The book reviews the importance of (and how to be) Consistent, Time Outs, etc.

It sounds basic, but really parenting should be basic. I think this book fairly succinctly covers the main things parents and children need to do for an effective relationship/childraising experience. If you are familiar with other childraising books, it incorporates similar ideas to "Love and Logic", "How to Talk so Kids will Listen ...", and "Parenting the Strong Willed Child", among others.

I believe this book is excellent for giving a nice overview of the basics for raising children (often things we forget about, like not reminding/nagging, following through with consequences, and spending positive, quality time with our kids, so they want to be good and behave well. Some of the other books out there give more examples for what to do or say in each particular situation, though I think this books really has it all, and is easy to read.

If you are a parent who has a difficult child, or if you're just looking to sharpen your parenting skills this book is a MUST READ. By applying Dr. Amen's steps our parenting skills have gone from frantic and out of control to peaceful and in complete control. I've recommended this book to all my friends with children, whether they have difficulties with them or not.

What an excellent resource for parents. Practical tips that make sense. The DVD is great too.

This is a great book and seems to be very comprehensive in it's considerations for you to think about as you approach parenting. I think it was a good investment!