Customer Reviews

Secrets of Discipline: For Parents and Teachers

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As reviewed by Marjan Glavac for the Busy Educator's Newsletter

Ron Morrish, author of "Secrets of Discipline 12 Keys for raising responsible children" has been an educator and behaviour specialist since 1972. His workshops and presentations have helped countless parents and teachers improve their skills for raising responsible children.

Ron starts out with a very simple question: What has happened to discipline? Could television and the movies have such a negative impact on our children? Many people think so. Others believe that social issues are to blame, including poverty, abuse and the breakdown of the family unit. Research says that every one of these concerns plays a significant role. That's not a surprise.

The only real surprise, according to Morrish, is that no one is investigating the most obvious source of problems. Many of the problems with discipline lie within discipline itself. Many of the strategies that we presently use to raise our children will not give us the kind of children we want.

I visited with Ron in his home for over 3 hours. While there, his 6 year old daughter kept peeking through the doorway to see who her dad was talking to. Ron invited her into the room and introduced us. She then sat on his lap, and listened attentively as we both continued our conversation. There firsthand, I saw that Ron's approach to discipline really works. He is one speaker and author who "walks his talk".

We needed to delve a bit deeper than Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers with our spirited 3 year old and a family friend who is a psychologist recommended this one. Wonderful book, down to earth, easy to read and with practical solutions that helped us a great deal. I wish it weren't so hard to find. Of course some of the book does not apply yet to our child but we will be hanging on to this to help us through childhood and beyond.

My mother saw Dr. Morrish speak and bought this book for me when my son was 4, ten years ago. It's wonderfully written and straitforward. There's no gimmicks; this just about putting the issues of parenting into perspective and showing you how your interactions with your child get you there. How parenting skills relate to ultimate outcome. It was so wonderful because I could see beyond the immediate moment with my son and discipline and talk to him with eye on how I was helping him develop into the man I hoped he'd be. Now he's 14 and I receive endless comments on his character and especially on the quality of our relationship - I would give Dr. Morrish 80% of the credit for helping me to be the parent I hoped when my son was born. I still heed his advice, allowing things to evolve as my son gets older. Morrish will teach you what he did me: I didn't want my son to clean his room - I wanted him to learn responsibility and to care for his things; he didn't need to be rescued from difficult ventures - he needed to learn to assess risk and understand consequences; it wasn't just respect - he needed to understand compliance and how to build healthy relationships. And on and on....it's a short book but it covers so much ground. As a parent you will keep your eye on building within your child all of the skills they need to be wonderful adults. I didn't know it at the time, but this book was the most important gift my mother gave her grandson. She gave him a mother with understanding and tools to be a much better parent.

I checked out dozens of books on child behavior and discipline before I found this gem. Most texts on the subject take poorly thought out or "au courant" misinformation and turn it into 300 page wastes of time and money. Morrish's book makes all other attempts at this field unnecessary - this is the only book you'll ever need for creating developmentally appropriate and EFFECTIVE strategies for child discipline. (The only exceptions to this might be kids with severe developmental disorders, mental retardation, or the like but I suspect Morrish's basic tenets might hold true in these situations as well.)

What else is there to say? Even if, as a parent, you're convinced you have a solid grasp on child behavior control and discipline you still need this book. It's that good. If I had my way I'd have this text be standard reading for all parents, potential and extant. Do yourself, your child, and our society a tremendous favor - buy this book, commit it to memory, and put it into action with your children. Now.

I was given this book, and while parenting advise is often not very welcome, I was thrilled to receive it! I have been searching for alternatives for the"If...then.." (meaning 'If you eat your peas, then you may have dessert, or If you clean your room then you can have a playdate', etc.) trap for a while and as the mother of an expert five year old negotiator needed some guidance. This book is clear, concise, rational, and really just what I was looking for. It has been a godsend, and I am recommending it to all my friends.

I am a parent of 3 teen-age+ children - 2 pre-teen stepchildren and have managed a pre-school program (57 children) for the past 15 years. This is the first method of discipline in the new age that is useful not only for teachers and parents but also for our children. If everyone were to apply R. Morrish's intelligent and common sense methods our future generations would be our pride instead of our sorrow. Our children will benefit greatly from this method of growing up and I will be using it extensively in both my home and my pre-school. Thank you Ronald it is about time we "raised" our children with real workable methods. Parents should be given this book the day they have their first child.

Morrish walks the reader through the 12 keys that truly unlock our children's potential to be responsible and successful in life....I found his approach "parent-friendly" and would recommend it to anyone with children or planning to have children

If you are looking for a how to guide for disciplining children at home or in the classroom, this is the book to read. Simple, common sense suggestions to help teach children the value of respect, reason for rules etc...