Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children [Paperback]

Tom Sturges (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2009

When Tom Sturges became a father, he wanted to be the greatest father who ever walked the earth. So Sturges asked a lot of questions. He picked up ideas, advice, and tips from parents, grandparents, even rock stars and sports legends–anyone who had unique insights to share. The result is this practical, inspiring rule book for raising healthy, happy, safe, and cherished children. Philosophical, sensible, and empowering, these 76 ideas include such gems as:

• Teach your children that they have to follow the “Parking Lot Rules” whenever they are in (you guessed it) a parking lot. They must stay close. There is to be no trailing behind. No racing ahead. No exceptions.
• Let your child feel welcome and loved from the instant he or she walks into a room. “Smile When You See Them,” and leave no doubt that, at that moment, your child is the most important person in your world.
• Since parents who yell intimidate, and those who use a calm tone inspire, “When You Get Upset, Whisper”–and make sure your message is heard.
• Follow “The Bill Walton Rule”: If you can’t be on time, be early.
• When your children accomplish something great in sports, use “The ESPN Rule” by telling the story in intimate detail and filling them with the belief that they can do it again and again.

Parking Lot Rules puts a fresh new spin on parenting, in an inspiring handbook full of heart and kindness that will resonate with joy and meaning for parents and children everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A well-written, entertaining, and supremely practical guide to leading our kids into adulthood safely and strongly. Even as a so-called parenting expert, I found myself surprised by Sturges’s creative solutions and strongly motivated to put them into place in my own home.”—Hal Runkel, family therapist and author of ScreamFree Parenting

"Packed with practical insights, wisdom and fun, Parking Lot Rules hits the bull's eye when it comes to helping our children. Every parent must read it."—Meg Meeker, M.D., author of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

"Tom Sturges has gotten the recipe for parenting just right: five parts love, three parts struggle, two parts humor and a dollop of wisdom. His suggestions for a wide variety of parenting problems are practical and funny. I wish I'd read these rules (especially "Almost Always Skip the First Thing That Comes to Mind") before I'd raised my two children."—Michael Thompson, Ph.D., co-author of Raising Cain

About the Author

Tom Sturges is a mentor, teacher, coach, and volunteer, and the father of two sons, now ages ten and sixteen. He is Executive Vice President and Head of Creative for Universal Music Publishing Group.

Many of the ideas in Parking Lot Rules were nuanced and matured while he mentored a group of 32 at-risk children at a South Central Los Angeles public school. He received commendations from several civic and national leaders for these years of volunteerism and this story will be told in the forthcoming documentary, Witness To A Dream.

Tom also created a learning program that develops creativity in children via the writing of lyrics, melodies and recording the finished songs. Every Idea Is A Good Idea has been an integral element of the MBUSD Gate Program for five of the last six years, reaching more than 360 students. Tom also teaches The Music Business Now at UCLA Extension, a course central to the UCLA-E Music Business Certificate Program.

Sturges, who lives in Manhattan Beach, California, is a golfer, and an inventor and the son of legendary writer & director Preston Sturges. He is also the President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences.

Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas For Raising Amazing Children is his first book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345503783
• ISBN-13: 978-0345503787
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be ready with the Post-it Notes, June 13, 2008

By 

Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children (Hardcover)

This helpful book has loads of specific parenting tips from a dad that obviously cares for his kids.

There are 76 ideas here, each one quite practical and easy to implement. For example, #7 is Almost Always Skip the First Thing That Comes to Mind. Hey, I could use that with my husband! Another Post-it-worthy one is #45: Your Child Has to Know Where You Are. How many of us forget that? I know I do. I almost always know where my daughter is, but she often has to track me down.

Each rule covers a couple of pages, and includes an example or two taken from real life. If you're like me, you'll find yourself using the ideas right away.

One quibble: The book has a whiff of cheapness, especially given that it's from a major publisher. The few photos are horribly reproduced black and white images that look Xeroxed.

Here's the chapter list:

1. Every Day: Ways to keep your children safe, healthy, respected and cherished, every day
2. Communicating With Your Children
3. Manners Matter
4. No Lost Children
5. Disciplines and Punishments
6. Pain Happens, Now What?
7. Play Sports, Period

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not Great, September 9, 2008

By 

M. Valbuena (Orange County, Ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children (Hardcover)

As a soon-to-be first time parent, I bought this book based on a reprint of one of the rules within BestLife Magazine. The book offers some useful parenting advice and tips- such as the 'Parking Lot Rule' but some of the other rules seem too protective of the child. While it may simply be a difference in parenting styles, some of the rules make it seem that children should be treated as delicate objects and suggest isolating them from ANY type of outside harm (emotional, physical, etc.) .

For example, one of the rules had to do with dealing with the child being in a embarrassing situation- such as toilet paper on the shoe, or a open pants zipper. Tom Sturges suggests that you should ask the child "If your zipper was down would you want me to tell you?" as a way to alert them to the situation without directly addressing it. I understand that you probably wouldn't want to point and laugh at your child in front of a crowd- but I also don't see the harm of pulling the child aside and whispering "Hey, your zipper is down" or using humor to diffuse the situation.

Other than a few of these overly cautious rules, the rest of the book offers useful tidbits and rules that I'm hoping to use as a parent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Gift for Parents, January 28, 2009

By 

K. Hellmers "KH" (LA,CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parking Lot Rules & 75 Other Ideas for Raising Amazing Children (Hardcover)

New parents might not know it yet, but they will be running for this book for years to come! Tom Sturges does a masterful job of giving parents constructive ways to handle situations through wit, charm, new ideas and phrases and even great questions that will spark conversation no matter what the age of the child. It will turn troubled times into wonderful memorable moments.