Rules for Parents [Paperback]

Nan Silver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2000

The bestselling dating guide, The Rules, became a smash success because it offered a simple, basic guideline for relationships. With that in mind, Nan Silver -- co-author of How Marriages Succeed and Fail -- has written Rules for Parents. It's based on the principle that parents don't need to be perfect, just loving and strong -- "love with a backbone" -- and it's replaced all the parenting theories, trends, and jargon with simple, no-nonsense rules. It's a back-to-basics approach with all the warmth, wit, and common sense of your best friend.

Whether your goal is to instill independence or a love of learning, to tame a tantrum or your own impatience, Rules for Parents offers quick and sensible tactics that really work. Filled with smart (and sometimes surprising) strategies for giving children from infancy to kindergarten a strong start -- this warm and loving guide will help parents and kids "play by the rules."..and win.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When Nan Silver (coauthor of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work) whipped herself into a prenatal panic (which goes something like, "What was I thinking? How can I possibly take care of this baby?), she ditched her stack of baby-care books and called her mother. Mom's reassuring words provided the backbone--and rule number 1--for this hilarious but highly practical guide to commonsense parenting: "You Don't Have to Be Perfect." Readers will find compassion and candor in Silver's nine engaging chapters, which offer practical, savvy advice on discipline, siblings, age-appropriate communication, and upholding the parental "couple." Her premise is simple: neither a tyrant nor a doormat be. Drawing from her professional life as a journalist and her personal life as a mother, Silver compiles a sensible list of "rules" that blend both old and new parenting techniques. Twenty-five ground rules comprise the first quarter of Rules for Parents; in them, Silver takes a firm stand on topics that range from being your child's friend (don't) to being his or her squeaky wheel (do); from force-feeding (don't) to teaching your child to make choices (do). Each rule is allotted two to three pages and is either humorous--such as "When It Comes to Tantrums Never Give In (and then when you do, find a good loophole)"--or very serious ("Have Zero Tolerance for Violence"). Regardless of subject, Silver maintains a witty, conversational tone that makes for a quick and memorable read. This Mommy could do a mean stand-up routine. --Liane Thomas

About the Author

Nan Silver, a contributing editor for Parents magazine, is the co-author with Dr. John Gottman of the highly acclaimed How Marriages Succeed and Fail and The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Her articles have appeared in Parents, Fitness, American Health, Longevity, New York Woman, and the Village Voice. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two young children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (February 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425168611
• ISBN-13: 978-0641692819
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,998,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars so many golden nuggets, February 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rules for Parents (Paperback)

My wife and I acquired about 18 inches of books on child care when we had our first child three years ago, and I'm ready to stick them in the basement and free up some shelf space after reading this one. So much wisdom in a one inch binding! This is one of the best combinations of "predigested" expert advice from a variety of sources and author's personal perspective that I've seen in my (slightly obsessive) attempt to outwit the pitfalls of parenthood. As I moved through the book, I was able to get an affirmation of some of the practices my wife and I have followed with our firstborn, as well as some great hints for refining,improving or avoiding others. The style of the book is very conducive to your testing your own experience against the book's viewpoint ("rules" is a bit strong---this is not a dogmatic work by any stretch). Silver has a nice way of educating you without making you feel stupid, and the book moves at a nice clip. (It's also easy to pick up and put down between bottles, diaper changes and the like, since each "rule" is rarely longer than a few pages.) For that reason, this may be an even better book for those who don't read a lot of this type of subject matter than for bookworms like me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Parenting Group, August 15, 2000

By 

Chaya - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rules for Parents (Paperback)

I belong to a group of mothers who get together once a week to share parenting tips and experiences, and read aloud what some of the "experts" have to say. We've been experimenting with different books and styles, but this one was an instant winner! The author manages to say in a few words what other authors do in whole pages and chapters. It is never boring, and was a real sparkplug for conversations and feedback with other mothers. If you belong to any type of parenting support group, I highly reccommend using this book as a read-aloud text.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply... great.., May 19, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rules for Parents (Paperback)

Probably the best book ever written for new parents. You won't get tired reading it because of the way it's presented. It's simply a good book to read.