Review of Perfect Parenting (Paperback)

With 3 kids very close in age I find this book a very handy resource. Written by a parent educator who is also a mother it's filled with practical solutions.

Under each topic there are multiple creative options that go beyond the typical advice like time out - and they work very well!

A few examples:
Under Siblings, fighting (physcial):
Have the aggressor do a chore for the injured sibling, such as make his bed or take out the trash. (How they love this!)

Under Vegetables, won't eat them:
Sneak vegetables into other foods, such as chopped spinach in meat loaf, peas in tuna salad, grated zucchini in hamburgers or Start calling green vegetables Brain Food and let them know it will make them smarter and stronger.

Under Parents Anger:
If your anger causes you to strike your child you can control your outbursts...channel your physical reaction into a burst of applause. When you feel yourself about to strike, clap your hands, good and hard and fast while you express your feelings of anger. (It sends a very clear message to your child.)

This is a very helpful book and I would highly recommend it.

Product Description
"Perfect Parenting will give you the tools you need to feel confident as you raise your children. This handy reference book may become an indispensable part of your family's life." -- from the foreword by William Sears, MDPerfect parenting is parenting with a plan. It is based on:

• action, not reaction
• thoughtfulness, not anger
• knowledge, not chance
• common sense, not nonsense

This book is a practical dictionary of ideas. It is meant to inspire you to find the right answers for the many discipline and behavior issues you face every day. It presents you with many options and methods that can help you be thoughtful in your approach to raising your children. What you'll find here, in a handy A-Z format, are practical, commonsense solutions that will make your life easier.You'll learn what to do about back talk, dawdling, interrupting, stubbornness, whining. You'll find ways to get your kids to do the chores, stop ignoring you, and clean up their own messes. You'll even learn what to do about other people's children!Elizabeth Pantley designed a questionnaire addressing discipline problems and sent it to hundreds of parents. Their answers shaped this book to make it the most useful, practical book on discipline available today. Elizabeth Pantley is a frequent lecturer to parenting groups around the country. She is the author of one previous book, Kid Cooperation. Her informative newsletter, Parent Tips, is distributed through schools nationwide. She lives with her husband and their three children in Washington State, where she serves on an education advisory council and is the school PTA president.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Perfect Parenting (Paperback)

Review of I'm Their Dad! Not Their Babysitter!: Essays, Anecdotes and War Stories Celebrating Fatherhood (Paperback)

This is a must read for parents, young and old.The author has a great flair for humor mixed with serious thoughts on parenting, fatherhood in particular.The stories are drawn from his experiences raising his ownchildren, but the reader soon realizes the universal application to allparents.Take this book to the beach, on an airplane, etc.You will beglad you did.Bruce & Marge Rice

Product Description

I'm Their Dad! Not Their Babysitter is a humorous collection of essays and anecdotes about family life as seen through a loving father's eyes. Author Tim Herrera strikes a common chord with all parents by offering a charming and totally real look at the joys and frustrations of parenthood.

About the Author
Tim Herrera is a writer, columnist, television news reporter and Little League and soccer coach in Sacramento, California. Tim has written articles for national publications including: The New York Times, Modern Dad, News Photographer Magazine and Catholic Forester. His work has also appeared in the on-line magazine My Village. Tim and his wife are the parents of four children.

Click Here to see more reviews about: I'm Their Dad! Not Their Babysitter!: Essays, Anecdotes and War Stories Celebrating Fatherhood (Paperback)

Review of Dads Toddlers & Chicken Dance (Paperback)

Downey's book is a must read for all dads, old and new to this game of parenting. I was the fortunate recipient of this book, and having read Downey's earlier book, "So You're Gonna Be A Dad," I knew immediately that Downey would deliver with hilarious material that would make a difference in raising my two daughters. I have not been disappointed.
One significant diifference between Downey's book and others is that his approach diminishes the anxiety that comes with being a dad. He lets you know that there's a lot of other guys going through the same things, and they're all doing just fine.
Perfect holiday gift--better yet, the PERFECT gift to give Dad when his son or daughter turns two. I give Downey's book, "Dads, Toddlers, and the Chicken Dance" the highest rating possible: *****.

Product Description
Hilarious and helpful book for fathers explains thereality of toddlerhood. Downeys hilarious no-nonsense style makesDads, Toddlers and the Chicken Dance a refreshingly politicallyincorrect but informative guide for dads whose babies havemetamorphosed into a creature known as toddlerus destructivus.

Get the low-down on all the thrills and chills of raising a toddler, including:

BabysittingNutritionCommon sicknessesMoney LawnmowersArnold SchwarzeneggerTelevisionBedtime Toddler-proofing your homeSpeech developmentSpanking TantrumsToilet-trainingBirthday partiesParentalsanitySperm testingContraceptionChoosing a preschool BathtimeThe chicken danceVasectomiesAnd, ofcourse, lots of stuff about sex!

About the Author
PETER DOWNEY B.Ed., M.A., J.P., Ed.D., describes himself asoutstandingly ordinary. He lives in a red brick house with his wife,his trio of daughters and a rabbit named Chloe, to whom he is allergic(the rabbit, that is, not the kids). He brews his own beer, takes milkin his coffee and often walks to the corner store to buy bread and thepaper. He wrote this book because he believes in fatherhood; becausehe wanted to warn his paternal brothers about the challenges of livingwith a small child; and because he thinks all other parenting booksare lousy. The main reason, however, is so he can claim his vasectomyas a tax deduction. He lives in Australia.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Dads Toddlers & Chicken Dance (Paperback)

Review of Becoming a Chief Home Officer (Paperback)

Humorous and practical.Allie Pleiter is completely transparent in sharing her "rocky start" to becoming a stay-at-home-mom.I could relate to her right away.
This book shows you how to transform your thinking about staying at home.It truly is a "career shift", and should be approached like any new job.
The chapters on training, professional development, and networking are invaluable and a unique way to approach motherhood.
I gained a new sense of pride as a stay-at-home-mom.I am the CHO of my household!!!
I also recommend the first book in this series from the Hearts-at-Home organization, Professionalizing Motherhood.

Product Description
Practical help and inspiration for moms making the "career shift" to motherhood from the working world, equipping them to be creative and passionate in pursuing the resources, support and humor they need for loving their career of motherhood as much as they love their kids.

From the Back Cover
Thriving in Your Career Shift to Stay-at-Home Mom

Guidance for moms choosing to shift from the workplace to the career of full-time motherhood--filled with wit, realism, and delightful practicality

Ideal for personal use, mentoring relationships, and group discussion

Allie Pleiter knows firsthand the culture shock, surprises, joys, and uncertainties of leaving the workplace to stay at home and raise children. With disarming wit and a refreshing personal transparency, Pleiter tackles both the "whys" and "hows" of this transition that strike at the very core of a woman's concept of self, of accomplishment, of worth. Becoming a Chief Home Officer constructs a fresh new "benefits package" for the profession of motherhood and offers a wide array of practical advice from "labor relations" in averting strikes and tantrums, to new perspectives in seeking "raises, praises, and promotions."

Three distinct audiences will find help and hope in these pages: the working woman considering this transition, the newly-at-home mom adjusting to culture shock, and the "approaching burnout," been-home-awhile mom struggling with frustration or dissatisfaction. Pleiter's witty admission of mistakes and mishaps evokes knowing grins and empathetic laughter to punctuate her wonderfully practical advice.

Hearts at Home Workshop Series

Ideal for personal use, mentoring relationships, and group study, all books in the Hearts at Home Workshop Series include two valuable features: personal reflection questions within each chapter and a leader's guide in the back of the book with group discussion questions and suggestions.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Becoming a Chief Home Officer (Paperback)

Review of The Organized Parent : 365 Simple Solutions to Managing Your Home, Your Time, and Your Family's Life (Paperback)

As a lifelong packrat and very unorganized person, this book is the first book that has ever actually motivated me to really become organized and I've actually read it all the way through and followed it's tips.A great thing about this book is that you don't have to read all the way through.Pick a chapter and dive right in AND it gives you great solutions/options for quick fixes or major rehauls.

I'm newly married and only have one small baby, but I'm hoping that as a SAHM, this will get my butt in gear and keep it there for years to come.

SOLD on this book,
Nicki
:)

Product Description
From parenting author Christina Baglivi Tinglof comes The Organized Parent, a collection of tips and advice on how you can create an organized and efficient home and family schedule. Three hundred sixty-five tips--divided into quick fixes and major tune-ups--focus on parent-specific organizational problems. You will find solutions for everything from budgeting to housecleaning to organizing messy closets, children's bedrooms, and family vacations to cooking and shopping to maintaining daily routines.

From the Author
Even with three little boys all under the age of five, author Christina Baglivi Tinglof still finds some time for herself everyday. "It's all about prioritizing, and putting good systems into place," she says. "With kids, things are bound to get crazy. It's OK to let the little stuff go." Her tips for organizing a child's bedroom? Hooks. "I have them everywhere in my children's room-on the back of the door as well as a huge display at their eye level next to their closet. One for pajamas, one for backpacks, and so forth. It's much easier for children to hang things than it is to put them away in drawers or on a hanger." What about toys? "I'm a true believer in clear, plastic boxes with lids. One box for every type of toy-a big box for wooden blocks, a smaller box for things like a marble set. You can stack them in the closet or slide them under the bed." (She notes that teenagers will find that a variety of wicker baskets will accomplish the same task but with a bit more panache.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Organized Parent : 365 Simple Solutions to Managing Your Home, Your Time, and Your Family's Life (Paperback)