Picking Your Battles: Winning Strategies for Raising Well-Behaved Kids

by Bonnie Maslin

Book Overview

How often as parents do we promise ourselves that we won't "sweat the small stuff" when it comes to our kids? And how often does our concern--or our tight schedules--make us do exactly that? In a non-judgemental voice that speaks to parents everywhere, the author shows how to avoid "no-win" discipline styles and instead set limits, develop a child's sense of self-discipline, and use anger positively to survive the hassles and headaches of everyday...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312263783
• ISBN13: 9780312263782
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Invaluable Resource

This book should be required reading for all parents. I only regret that it was not available to my own mother and father. With compassion and understanding, Bonnie Maslin has outlined simple principles that will save a parent's sanity, and simultaneously produce a healthy relationship between parent and child. I have passed this book on to many friends, with many thanks. Thank you, Dr. Maslin!

Bonnie Maslin's Picking Your Battles

I bought this book after reading the reviews and hoped and crossed fingers that this book would help me to get back to how I was before I became a mother or at least help me to be a good mother and not a nagging old witch that I have now become. Well I'm glad I did! I have two boys, one nine and the other twelve...and after reading the book I wished I had the book before I even gave birth to either of them. There's lots of valuable information on raising kids and how to discipline them. It also helps us to identify what type of parent we are and how to rate the behavioral breach.. but I especially liked the part about looking at our children and seeing them as a "work in progress" and "person under construction"., so whatever we do and say just remember this and it actually helped me better to deal with them. I had some trouble with my younger one, one morning (yup!just before going to school). He was moody, cranky and scolding me and everyone in the room about how we must have misplaced one of his workbooks.,etc, etc.... and I decided to try one of Bonnie Maslin's kidology ..and What she said "No matter how angry I get with you or how furious you get with me, we will always love each other. There is always love after anger." In my own words of course, but the intention and the feeling conveyed, and the hug I gave him, actually did calm him down. What surprised me most was that he called me at work from school to say he had found the book and that he was sorry about what happened in the morning! Can you believe it a nine year old boy taking his break time to call me to apologize!! There were many more incidents that happened with my children and Bonnie Maslin's words of wisdom came in really handy.(Mind you I got the book only three weeks ago) Don't wait till you have children to read this book and get ideas on how to raise children, do it when you are expecting/planning them. It is an extremely useful tool for parents dealing with everday issues like misbehaviour and anger and even the more serious ones like lying. More importantly though to set reasonable expectations of our children whom we love so dearly.

To My Readers:Join Me for Free Interactive Parenting Talks

Dear Readers, Thank you for your generous words of praise for Picking Your Battles (PYB). While PYB is grounded in everything I know from my many years of clinical experience working as a psychologist in private practice as well as my knowledge of the field of child development, it is above all the product of thirty years of parenting; I am mother and stepmother to four reasonably well-behaved children. Because I know what it means to be on the front-line of parenting, PYB is a practical book written from the trenches, not the lofty heights of expertise. I feel sure that all of you who are also right down there with me on the front-line of parenting will find it useful in making your life with kids easier and more joyful enabling you get even better at the ever-challenging job of raising well-behaved kids. All the Best, Bonnie Maslin PS I invite you to join my Nationwide Interactive Parenting Discussion Groups by way of a FREE conference call. For information on how you can participate in these innovative parenting sessions where you can hear me talk AND ask me questions, please go to my website: www.pickingyourbattles.com PPS If you have found PYB useful, please recommend it to your friends. There is no better endorsement for me than yours, a fellow parent! Thank You.

This book is a lifesaver.

If you are worn down and worn out from fighting with your kids, this book is for you. It is a practical, powerful tool to help us, as parents, to stop the kind of behavior that encourages children to act out. It is well-written and speaks to a parent in language that he or she can understand while being fun and lively. I highly recommend it for everyone with children up to age 11 or 12.

Smart Strategies for Rasing Your Kids

Dr. Maslin's newest book is a winner. Her strategies for handling inevitable conflicts with your kids are very well thought-out. Some of her points are broader in scale while some of her suggestions are very specific, reflecting a very good eye for detail.One of my favorites (and trust me, this one works!) is the "body block" maneuver: When you're on the checkout line at the supermarket, invariably your kids will clamor for some of the brightly-colored candy that the store managers deviously place right near the register. How do you avoid a tantrum here? It's surprisingly easy - just put your body between the candy and your child: Out of sight, out of mind, and you're out of the store without a fight over M & M's.Maslin's writing is also very clear and accessible. I've read all of her other books (which mostly focus on adult relationships, such as The Angry Marriage), and I think this one is her best so far. If you have young kids and want to learn how to reduce all the fighting (who doesn't?), then definitely buy this book.