The good thing about the book is that it gives usable tools that can be applied to almost any situation in order to diffuse conflict, encourage teamwork instead of competition, and encourage children to develop their own problem resolution skills so that parents don't end up in the middle of arguments or forced to take sides. It's an extremely easy read, and I would imagine most libraries have it since it's been on the NYT bestseller list.
I feel like in the short week since reading it, the relationship between Eliot and Ivy has improved greatly. It was never "bad", but now I feel less obligated to always take Ivy's side since she's the little one. I feel like I can talk with Eliot about conflict in a way that validates his feelings while still correcting his actions. This has been so much easier on me than my previous method of blowing a fuse and sending him to the corner while comforting Ivy.
2 comments:
This is interesting. I was going to try to turn the kids against one another, so that in the chaos, the parents could maintain control. I guess I will have to think about the positives of each approach...
--Marc
Yes!!!! I have the same opinion of parenting books, but keep reading them. I really liked this one. Honestly, it did a lot to explain my own upbringing and why my siblings and I interact the way we do....and showed me ways to avoid repeating that cycle. I haven't had to put it into practice that much yet, but there are some things that have already been relevant and it's just made me more aware of how I interact with both kids.
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