Smart Discipline: Fast, Lasting Solutions for Your Peace of Mind and Your Child's Self-Esteem [Hardcover]

Larry Koenig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002

Would you like your kids to follow the rules the first time you ask, without backtalk, bickering, or screaming matches? Now, the creator of the most popular parenting seminar in the United States explains his amazingly simple, stunningly effective system of discipline that enables parents to help children ages 3 to 16 become self-motivated to follow the rules at home and at school.

Parents can set up the five-step Smart Discipline system within an hour or two. It can be used by any caregiver and is easily tailored to differences in age, temperament, and the needs of children with ADD/ADHD.

The book shows parents how to use this system to quickly solve common problems such as: messy rooms, disrespectful language, chores, fighting and bickering, lying, whining, and homework problems. It also empowers parents to get their children self-motivated to behave properly at school. Most parents will see results within several days of starting the system and they can continue to use it effectively for years to come.

Once Smart Discipline is part of the home, parents can stop the nagging and criticism that destroy children's desire to achieve. Dr. Larry J. offers powerful self-esteem builders for children, including showing parents how to identify children's unique talents, encourage them to develop their abilities, and celebrate their successes.

With this book in hand, you can implement the system that more than a hundred trained mental health professionals teach in more than three thousand schools, churches, hospitals, and civic organizations nationwide. Practical, straightforward, and effective, Smart Discipline is the wise choice for all parents who want a family life that sets the stage for their children's success.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Parents of children ages four to 16 are sure to devour this book, if not from cover to cover, at least through the first section where Koenig outlines the Smart Discipline method. Koenig, father of five, founder of the national adolescent self-esteem program Up With Youth, and a family therapist, offers parents a simple approach to getting their children to act right. Koenig directs readers to link their children's most irritating behaviors to their favorite activities, so that being able to do the latter depends on improving the former. This relationship should be illustrated in a prominently posted daily or weekly chart that tracks the child's behavior. There's nothing new about this general approach it's the rigidly systematized charts themselves, which should be used consistently and automatically, that will, according to the author, eliminate the need for nagging, threats and lecturing. Once parents have dealt with behavior problems, they can nurture constructive relationships that boost self-esteem. In the remainder of the book, Koenig urges parents to find their child's "center of brilliance" and identify his or her strengths. Koenig gives Smart Discipline seminars regularly, an experience that seems to have influenced his writing style, which has a kind of chirpiness that is sometimes off-putting in print. Even with this shortcoming, the book has much to offer exasperated parents.

About the Author

Larry J. Koenig, Ph.D., trained as a family therapist, is the founder of Up with Youth, the nation's leading self-esteem program for adolescents, which has benefited thousands of teens nationwide. He is also president of the North American Society for Parent Training and Development and creator of Up with Parents, a dynamic program that helps parents effectively gain control of their children's behaviors and attitudes. At his parenting seminars, he is well known for his delightful ability to pinpoint exactly what is going on in people's homes and for giving meaningful and practical advice. The parents of five grown children, Dr. Koenig and his wife Nydia live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066212391
• ISBN-13: 978-0066212395
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parent finally in charge!, August 6, 2002

By 

Patricia Kelley (Waterloo, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Smart Discipline: Fast, Lasting Solutions for Your Peace of Mind and Your Child's Self-Esteem (Hardcover)

I was skeptical at first. The day before I bought this book, I cried for 2 hours after my daughter left the house to go with her father. My boyfriend asked me for about the 5th time, have you looked to see if there are any books written that would help you with this discipline problem you are having with your daughter? So, I went to the bookstore and bought Larry's book on Smart Discipline. The Smart Discipline process worked for me because it helped me to know what the rules are in my home. Sound too simple? I am a single mother, whose 10 year old daughter spends 1/2 time with her father each week. He is the disciplinarian, I was not. I was so glad to see my daughter when she would arrive back with me, that I had no control over her behavior. She is not one of those easy children to raise. She has a definite mind of her own and seems to thrive on stepping over the line and then watching the fireworks. There were countless mornings where I would go to work feeling guilty for how the early morning had gone trying to get her ready for school. Then there were the evenings with homework! I started Smart Discipline with my daughter about four weeks ago. She didn't like it at first and tried all of the behaviors Larry said she would, to try to get me to stop. It is not easy to hold fast when you are used to giving in all of the time, but it pays off. Last week she had no X's! And, she was proud of it. She suggested that maybe we didn't need to do the chart anymore. Ha! I told her I thought we did. She seems more at ease, knowing where the line is consistently. And, I know I am more relaxed. Now I won't tell you it will be a piece of cake. It is not. But, I will tell you that reading Larry's book, saved me and my daughter from endless days of fighting over silly stuff like whether or not she was going to take a shower or brush her teeth. With the problems I was having now, my thoughts about what she was going to be like at 15 were not good. Now I see a better future for us. If you feel like your child is out of control, and want to do something about it, read this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good tools that need more soul, July 31, 2003

By 

Bharata Satria (Jakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Smart Discipline: Fast, Lasting Solutions for Your Peace of Mind and Your Child's Self-Esteem (Hardcover)

Not that I disagree with the author. As far as discipline concerned, this book offered wonderful method for behavior modification that I would gladly apply.

However, this book doesn't cover psychology of children (which is exactly my intention of buying the title) nor give you understanding of their behavior.

If you are looking for simple and ready-to-use method of disciplining your children, this book is for you. But if you are looking for deeper parents-children relationship, you need to find elsewhere.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heaven Sent, October 23, 2006

By 

Fabio L. Melendez "fabs" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Smart Discipline: Fast, Lasting Solutions for Your Peace of Mind and Your Child's Self-Esteem (Hardcover)

What else can I say, for the first time in over 4 months I can finally breath and smile in the mornings. I thought our case was to tough for this technique, so far we had been implementing something very similar and we had seen some minor changes of attitude, so we made the some adjustments to adopt this plan and WOW wat a change, our Foster child, soon to be adopted changed from one day to another, it is liek something clicked on him. He woke up in the morning without complaining and got ready for school. WE DID NOT HAVE TO REPEAT OURSELVES, not once. Every parent, foster parent, adult should read this book.