Customer Reviews

You're a Better Parent Than You Think!: A Guide to Common-Sense Parenting

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the best parenting book I've read, and I've read a bunch. It's completely free of psychobabble, and his approach is straightforward, practical, and sensible. Guarendi doesn't get into the usual controversies about whether or not to spank, attachment parenting, or the like. Instead, he gives parents practical ways to apply whatever their particular philosophies are. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

I purchased this book after watching Dr. Guarendi give an interview on EWTN. I realized that even though I am a fairly consistent parent, I could work at it a little more. Once I read the book, I was shocked and chagrined to discover I was less consistent than I thought, and the main reason we had so much discord with one of our children stemmed from my refusing to completely take authority. This author believes in parental authority exercised in love, and I have to tell you that his ideas worked for us. My "problem" child is still spirited, but she also listens to me now, and close family agree that she's more pleasant to be around and even happier. As the author predicted, at first we had to discipline constantly (and this wasn't spanking for those who are worried about that), but now that she knows we mean business, we discipline less often than before we read this book, and with better results. For us, this book has been a lifesaver, and compared to many of the cases from his practice that Dr. Guarendi shares, our problems were really mild! If you want to be a *more* loving parent who can discipline effectively and consistently and calmly, get this book, read it, and then implement the ideas.

I first learned about Dr. Ray from a friend who read this book. Since then, I have purchased every one of Dr. Ray's books and even downloaded his wonderful 13-part audio series from the EWTN web site (...)This book has helped me more in my parenting than any other that I have read, and I have read several. Dr. Ray gives you a no-nonsense approach based on his premise that the one thing parents of today need the most is confidence (at least the parents who are willing to read a book about parenting, that is). What makes this book stand out is that not only will it help you in rearing your child, it will also give you a new perspective when reading other parenting books.

Great book that cuts through the all the garbage that's promoted as "expert opinion" and uses good common sense to raising kids.

I became familiar with Dr. Guarendi through several mothering and homeschooling books....he's great. The aspect that struck me as most interesting is how many of the "experts" give us advice that actually produces the problems we wish to avoid! And he doesn't just say this....you get real-life experiences that just about anyone can relate to. I was nodding my head all the way through, realizing I had seen such things time and again in the past. As with his book "Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime", Dr. Guarendi shows that the only thing you really need in parenting is plain old common sense.

This is a really good book. The author is awesome. Too bad he didn't right more books!

THis book is very good companion for those that do not have a clue in parenting and for those that think that know everything!

It is a book for every day reading

I love Dr Ray's common sense and sense of humor! Read it!

This book was given to me, so I read through it and quickly realized it was not for my husband and I. Our personal philosophy is that discipline means "instruction" or "training," which doesn't necessarily have to be synonymous with "punishment." Only once in Guarendi's book did I see the word discipline used to mean "self-control;" the other times, the word was used as a synonym for punishment -- why not just say "punish" instead?

I was especially disturbed by his "rules for a fair fight" with regard to sibling squabbles. Basically, punish your kids for telling you about a problem (that's "tattling"), punish all kids involved in a squabble equally...unless they can keep their discord out of your hearing range, in which case you will ignore it. My parents used the same "technique" and my sister and I learned to fight, threaten and manipulate to "resolve" conflict. We also learned that starting a fight was a great way to "punish" each other (as long as we didn't mind getting some ourselves) since mom/dad would swoop in and mete out punishment to all. How are children supposed to learn how to reach resolution and compromise if their parents do not teach them?

For parents who take a primarily punitive approach to discipline, this book will give you confidence in your methods. For those who think teaching discipline means teaching (and modeling) self-control and who want to guide their children to respect others and resolve conflict by practicing making good choices, I'd recommend checking out Dr. Becky Bailey's Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict into Cooperation.