Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disciplining your Preschooler, September 20, 2003
`Discipline without Shouting or Spanking', `How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will, too!' and `Positive Discipline for Preschoolers' are three different books with almost identical messages. All believe that shouting and spanking are counterproductive and that successful discipline requires a parent or caregiver to calmly teach and reinforce the rules of good behavior. `How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will, too!' and `Positive Discipline for Preschoolers' are both 300 plus page books and are arranged similarly. They begin by explaining what is typical preschooler behavior and what developmental factors are at play during this stage. This information encourages parents to make a paradigm shift and see "bad" behavior as developmentally appropriate behavior that needs the gentle hand of an adult to help channel it. They then follow with in depth discussions of good discipline strategies and how they differ from our natural knee-jerk responses. Both books end with practical examples of how to apply these discipline strategies to common behavioral problems. I would recommend either of these books to anyone who has come to see that shouting and spanking doesn't work and wants to learn what does. `How to Behave so Your Preschooler Will, too! is written in an organized, succinct, clean style and will appeal to those who enjoy a "textbook-like" book. `Positive Discipline for Preschoolers', on the other hand, has a more friendly, meandering tone and is written in a "chatting over a cup of coffee" style with tons of first hand accounts thrown in. "Discipline without Shouting or Spanking' is half the size of the previous two books and confines itself to practical applications. An outline format is used to discuss 37 common behavior problems. For each behavior problem it offers several suggestions to prevent the problem, solve the problem and even what not to do. Each discussion ends with an illustrative story. I would recommend this book to those already convinced that "positive discipline" works and looking for an easy to read, "in the trenches" handbook. All three books are excellent resources for the parents and caregivers of preschoolers but as their content is so similar, I'd strongly urge a potential buyer to take advantage of Amazon's Look Inside! feature and purchase the one whose format and writing style most suits your literary taste.
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tips, Compassion, and Humor for Parents of Preschoolers, February 22, 2004
By A Customer
I do like the quick read format and friendly tone of this reference book; I continue to find a number of helpful tips to try that I forget are options to use with my children when I am having a really tough day. However, I feel some of the anecdotes seem contrived by the author to make his point. Additionally, I think the advice about offering positive rewards (...to me, a euphemism for bribing) will often get a parent in trouble as the child tries to up the ante. I have found giving an occasional UNEXPECTED reward AFTER good behavior, to let them know that you noticed (their kindness to a sibling, for example) is far more effective in my family. I also would like to recommend another newer quick-read A-Z book called 'The Pocket Parent'. The anecdotes in this book are from real parents and are right on...as if the author has been peering in my windows! It too is written exclusively for parents of 2- to 5-year-olds. I have found that since I have been re-reading parts of both of these books as handy reference guides, I find myself more able to pause and think before I speak. I am proud of that, because my communication with my children has become more respectful as well as more effective in gaining their cooperation...and I am not yelling as much! Although Wycoff's book is a keeper, I prefer the compassion, humor and variety of short bulleted sanity savers in 'The Pocket Parent'. There are many suggestions in both books for parents to choose from that will make life with your 2, 3, 4, and 5 year old less stressful.
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54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
May work on a child not needing dicipline, July 25, 2000
This book was too simplistic in its approach to dicipline. The methods would probably work on a child that isn't a dicipline problem, but merely acts out occasionally. The author also assumes that the methods will work, no exception. I can attest that a very willful child will not be swayed by the rewards or privilge removal program. I have yet to find a book that does truly help with a difficult child. This one certainly doesn't.
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