8 Weeks To a Well-Behaved Child: A Failsafe Program for Toddlers Through Teens [Paperback]

James Windell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 1995

Windell presents a unique program for parents of children with discipline problems ranging from disobedience to criminal delinquency. This hands-on workbook offers a series of eight lessons designed to sharpen parenting skills, bring out-of-control children into line, and improve parent-child relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If the title might seem to ask for a skeptical rejoinder, then don't judge too hastily. Windell ( Discipline: A Sourcebook of 50 Failsafe Techniques for Parents ), who has taught "parent-training" classes for a quarter century, here rejects some of the usual means of disciplining children--e.g., inducing fear as a primary motive--while affirming other techniques and making new and rational suggestions. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of consistency as a tool for ushering change into a child's bad behavioral habits. Scheduling his strategies into a week-by-week series of courses, the author urges sufficient "loving" but insists "love is not enough"; to augment that, he recommends respect, "setting strict and firm limits," enforcing these, and yet also "allowing for dissent and expression" of children's emotions as adults move with them through a developmental process. Windell provides homework assignments at the close of chapters that ask parents to come to grips with the particulars of their situation in an objective fashion. And he certainly does not rule out punishment, but notes that it should be well-considered. His stories of fractious children (and dialogue) are likely to ease a reader's way. But as always, the proof is in the doing.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 2, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028604156
• ISBN-13: 978-0028604152
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It may sound crazy, but this book has changed my life!, June 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: 8 Weeks To a Well-Behaved Child: A Failsafe Program for Toddlers Through Teens (Paperback)

I am the mother of 3-1/2 year-old twins. Several weeks ago Iwas ready to throw in the towel in the Discipline department. "Mychildren never obey me. They don't listen to anything I say and hardly ever cooperate. Nothing I've tried has worked. I feel like a failure as a parent." My screaming had escalted to new heights, and I had even resorted to spanking my children in frustration and anger. I felt downhearted about myself and my twin daughters.

Desperate and depressed, I picked up this book. Its titled seemed like too much to hope for, but it promised a concrete program with "homework" assignments that would give me new parenting skills week by week. Now, several weeks later, we are a changed family. The techniques that Windell teaches are so specific and so effective that you will begin to see results almost immediately. For the first time, an author addressed MY personality as a parent (I was definitely an "Active Intervener"!). Of course I knew that I didn't want to spank my children, but had anyone ever really told me HOW not to and still get results? Not until this book. Yes, I had used time-outs and positive reinforcement, but not with any lasting effects, until this book told me EXACTLY how, when, and why, and just as importantly how NOT and when NOT to use those techniques.

Now my tirades are down, their compliance is up, we are communicating, and everyone is happier. I am so proud of all of us! I thank this author and recommend this book wholeheartedly to ANY parent, especially those who don't believe in corporal punishment and need guidance on how to achieve other methods of effective discipline.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a useful guide for both parents and teachers., April 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: 8 Weeks To a Well-Behaved Child: A Failsafe Program for Toddlers Through Teens (Paperback)

While I was immediately turned off by the seemingly impossible title of this book, I soon found it to be one of the most beneficial books on this subject I have read. As a teacher in an alternative high school and the parent children with disabilities and disorders, this book gave me a clear framework to guide me in making the most of the time I have with both my students and my sons.

If you are looking for a way to "fix" your child, this book won't help you unless you are willing to make some changes. It puts the responsibility for making things in your family or classroom work firmly back in your hands, where it belongs. You are given explanations and examples which ring true. The chapter summaries and "Homework" assignments help keep you on course toward your goal of helping to form socially acceptable behavior in the children for whom you are responsible.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has easy-to use tips for the frustrated parent., June 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: 8 Weeks to a Well-Behaved Child: A Failsafe Program for Toddlers Through Teens (Hardcover)

I teach parenting classes to parents of juvenile delinquents. Though they're resistant and unhappy at having to attend the seminar, "Eight Weeks to a Well-Behaved Child" breaks through their anger, giving them usable ideas on how to better deal with their defiant teen. After reading the book and completing the short homework assignments, most parents reported feeling extremely competent about their parenting skills. This book is just what they needed!