Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition)

I found that the strategies employed in this book work just as well with my 45 year old spouse as
with my 6 year old daughter.

This is one of the best parenting books out there using the latest approaches. Another book that I thought think is very powerful is Bully-Proofing Children: A Practical, Hands-On Guide to Stop Bullying- yes its about bullying but mostly about raising happy, empowered and successful children.

I thought this book was just OK. Much of the information was good and I will use it in our home. However, the examples they used in this book were outrageous. Who in this day and age is going to let their kid off to walk home. Also, allowing a child to determine whether they go to school or not is silly.

For the people reviewing this book who think it is cruel to children, or might lead to a drop in self-esteem, I suggest reading a study by a Dr. Dweck. It did a study on praising children, and the gist of the study is that children respond better to being told they are hard workers than being told they're smart. How does this relate to the book? Instead of constantly coddling your child, Love and Logic encourages you to put your confidence in their abilities, implying that you think they can work through their problems. This is great for self-esteem! Taking responsibility for yourself is a huge confidence builder (take it from someone whose mom was still making Dr. appointments for her at 21). Everyone fails. Letting your children make small mistakes ,and believe me, being cold all day because you didn't want to bring your coat is a SMALL mistake, helps them see that they can deal with the consequences of their failures/mistakes, making them more willing to try things. And for those who think Love and Logic doesn't offer good advice about parenting, keep in mind that this is a book about disciplining children. It specifically states in Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood to make sure your children enjoy being with you so that sending them to their rooms seems like a punishment. It also says to set a responsible example and take care of yourself, but that's about the extent of their off-disciplinarian parenting advice. It doesn't make it a bad book, just like you wouldn't consider a history text incomplete for not having math in it. I thought it was a great book and have had much success with it, as has my sister who introduced me to it. I recommend it to anyone I see struggling with their children.

My family is getting ready to adopt a special needs child and they were told to purchase this book along with the Martian Child movie. We purchased both of these items and they are very good to help in the thought processes behind a special needs child. The book shows a completely different way in bringing up children versus the old fashioned way. We have not finished the book yet but we are darn sure it is going to help.