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carriepond's review against another edition
5.0
My review has the caveat that I just finished AND my baby is only one, so I haven’t applied the concepts. BUT, I really appreciated how this book was organized— the first several chapters giving information and background about child development and behavior to lay the groundwork for the rest. Then a few chapters that lay out why certain types of traditional discipline don’t make sense in light of those developmental and behavioral limits and— what I found most helpful— how some of those can be tweaked to be more developmentally appropriate. Then the rest of the book applies gentle discipline techniques to specific categories of behavior that parents are likely to confront— violent behavior, lying, not doing things when asked, etc. I found it very easy to read, and her ideas really resonate with me. I checked this out from the library, but could see myself buying it so I could turn to it later for quick reference and a refresher.
mdrfromga's review
3.0
You can find some useful suggestions in this read. I think what was most helpful is the focus on understanding what's contributing to undesirable behavior, not just reflexively trying to correct it.
mayacymone's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book, she provided a lot of research and practical tips. I appreciated the challenge to address your own upbringing and truly understanding what discipline means for your family. It’s important to remember the demographic she is writing from and most likely to. In particular the part about praise rubs me the the wrong way. I like the idea of praising effort but I don’t see anything wrong with affirming your child’s beauty and intelligence ESPECIALLY children of color (the rest of the world will try to convince them other wise),
Overall a good book. I probably will return as certain discipline issues arise
Overall a good book. I probably will return as certain discipline issues arise
gatorreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Although I don’t agree with every little detail of this book, it has a lot of great information, tips AND my favorite thing is that she really explains the science of children’s development and how that plays a part in how they react/engage with you. My husband has a lot more open mindedness to this book and the idea of gentle discipline with Ockwell-Smith’s addition of these scientific explanations.
This is an overnight change for anyone, but I will say, my son (and husband) have been rather difficult as of late and just by implementing a couple of very small things and concentrating on doing more of the things I already do that Ockwell-Smith talks about in this book, I’ve seen some behavioral improvements for my whole family (myself included). Being a good human is hard and remembering that that’s all children are- humans that are having a hard time or having to deal with the repercussions of our hard times- really puts a lot of thjngs into perspective and makes me more patient to do better for myself, my husband, and our son.
This is an overnight change for anyone, but I will say, my son (and husband) have been rather difficult as of late and just by implementing a couple of very small things and concentrating on doing more of the things I already do that Ockwell-Smith talks about in this book, I’ve seen some behavioral improvements for my whole family (myself included). Being a good human is hard and remembering that that’s all children are- humans that are having a hard time or having to deal with the repercussions of our hard times- really puts a lot of thjngs into perspective and makes me more patient to do better for myself, my husband, and our son.
lizthebooklover's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually more helpful than I thought it was going to be. I am excited to put these tips into practice with my kids.
julshakespeare's review against another edition
5.0
4.6/5 stars, full review to come!
Organization : 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Enjoyment of subject/ideas: 5/5
Organization : 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Enjoyment of subject/ideas: 5/5
portalley's review
4.0
This book really boils down to: stay calm, validate the emotions that were the driving force behind misbehavior and work on more productive ways to handle those emotions, and give your kids as much autonomy and input in their lives (and in deciding consequences for misbehavior) as you can. I don’t agree with the author on all points, but after reading I’m able to articulate why I will continue to use some disciplinary measures she finds not useful or counterproductive. This book does suppose that parents are able to be supernaturally calm at all times, which can feel a little judgmental and shaming, so I don’t recommend this book if you’re at the end of your rope and need to validate your OWN emotions before you can find a better way to deal with them. But it’s a good read if you’re just looking for more parenting tools in your toolbox!
dynamitecait's review
5.0
What an informative read. This is a book I’ll definitely reference as a parent, but I also found it extremely informative from an educators standpoint. There are practices within this book that definitely line up with teaching, and I’ll be using them immediately!
oisin175's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Very good and informative book related to discipline and children. I wish it had more for toddlers, but it does provide a lot of useful info for moving forward.