Customer Reviews

Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read the book twice and continue to reference it. This book has helped me understand my 7 year old son's behavior. I first read it when he was 4. My son is very intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic. He cannot handle any kind of change if he is not forewarned. He notices every little detail, will argue till he is blue in the face, and cannot sit while eating at the dinner table!!
Now we are able to prevent many "blowups" because of the clues this book has taught us to look for. I even realized that I am a spirited person as well and that is why he and I were clashing w/ a lot of things unlike he and his father. I cannot praise this book enough. I will constantly refer to it and I plan on giving his wife a copy when he gets married!! Thank you Mary Sheedy Kurcinka!!

Finally, a book that doesn't lump my son into the ADHD, "difficult", or "explosive" categories that other books do. This book helps you understand why your child is doing what he is doing, and guides you into reacting appropriately, without some fictional, unrealistic example of a happy ending. The examples she gives are real--like she already knows your child and how he will react. She also helps you to remember the good qualities of your child, so you can remind yourself that you love him (which is easily lost amid tantrums and difficult days). I haven't even finished reading it, and I am already seeing positive results, both from me and my child--no major tantrums and no screaming reactions. The workbook is also helpful.

I found the book 'Raising your Spirited Child' useful and helpful but did not find this work book very practical. It was mostly written in the setting of a class or workshop which made it ponderous to read. Although this was a very warm and personal approach it was just not very concise. I found there was too much emphasis on reasoning and adapting to the child instead of teaching the child to adapt. I realise that with spirited children a parent must be keenly aware of the childs limitations and that a little planning goes a long way in reducing stress. But I also think that a parent must be very careful not to go too far as to lower expectations and make the family child centered. You don't have to be your childs personal therapist in order to be a good parent.
This book does not cover the role of negative reinforcement which is so prevalent with spirited children who are misbehaving. Without this understanding we could not begin to address the issues affecting our own spirited child. For this I would strongly recommend any parent of a spirited child to read: "The Manipulative Child: How To Regain control and Raise Resilient, Resourceful, and Independent Kids".

This book does offer hope and encouragement which I guess we all need when struggling day to day with a demanding child. Nothing prepares a parent for dealing with a spirited child and they put every parenting assumption and technique to the ultimate test. Although my wife and I did not find this work book helpful for our situation, it does add to the first book which we found very helpful.
For our spirited child, the books "Ain't Misbehavin" by William P Garvey, and "Setting Limits" by Robert J MacKenzie, helped us the most. By teaching our child self control, it allowed the positive spirited traits to overshadow the negative ones.

The author's positive and practical approach helps you to see the good in your "spirited" child, to craft situations which "work", and to advocate for your child. I rate this book among my top five picks for parents-to-be and parents of 0-5 year olds.

If you have a spirited child this book is a must read! The best part of this book is that she helps you figure out what specific situations trigger your child and the best ways to deal with (and avoid) those situations. She doesn't lump all spirited child together. I bought two parenting books when I purchased this one and I didn't even bother reading the second one. Awesome book - it saved my sanity and perhaps one spirited little 4 1/2 year old!

I thought I was the only one with a child like this. Thanks to this book, my daughter learned to cope with life and I learned to enjoy her company. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I read this book and was glad to find someone that understood what I was going through. She hits the nail on the head! I have referred back to this book several times. The author describes each sensory problem so that you can learn to understand and deal with these kids. It's a great book to have on hand and refer back to.

The first time I read the book, was without the workbook. I bought the book and workbook once I returned the borrowed one to it's owner. Great investment! Helps put everything into practice.

This book is such a breath of fresh air. When looking for a book to help me with some of the issues I was having with my toddler, I found many books about defiant children, strong-willed children, and children with ADHD, many of them sounding so negative. I knew this was not my son. He is the type of child that is very intense, very busy, perceptive, and persistent. He has been that way since he was born and I could really see it when he hit milestones like crawling and walking early because he just did not give in. This book details great ways to make a household run smoother for kids with these challenges and blessings. The author discusses the positives that come with having a child with these characteristics, and what we can do as parents to help make daily life smoother for us as parents and the child. It is not about discipline, instead it is about ways to help your child so that discipline is not needed due to their personality. The spirit my son has is valued in the adult world, but is difficult to handle with children,. This book shows how to handle children like him. I especially enjoyed the section about decreasing intensity, which worked instantly with my son. The methods are clear and easy to follow with many scenarios that help show how each method works with real- life situations. This is not for parents of ADHD children. Parents with spirited children know that their child is not a kid with ADHD, there is just something else that makes their children a little more extreme than others. If this is the way your child is, this is the book for you.

Think you have a child that consumes most of you - doesn't matter if your the parent or the teacher, as a matter of fact doing it together is better. Work through the book and try to apply one lesson a week, each week add one more lesson. Re-work the book every 6 months to gauge the small changes that come first, and to help keep u pushing along! One child with ADHD, and another that borders on Autistic - demanding 90% of a 24 hour day simultaneously - regardless if the attention was pos or neg. It didn't leave me with much for my "normal" non-demanding child or myself. By the end of the first week, I was getting a different kind of call from the schools - telling me how much change they saw in my all of my kids.
If you have children like mine, then you cant afford not to have this book!