Monday, November 5, 2012

Parenting

Right now I'm listening to the girls outside screaming at the tom cat who likes to pick on the kittens.  It's pretty funny, except......where did they learn to yell like that?  Someone posted recently about yelling at their kids, not liking it and trying to change.  Unfortunately I yell way more than I would like to admit.  I do it even though I know it isn't powerful and doesn't give me the results I want.  So then I started thinking about parenting books and the ones that have helped me.  I have gotten great results from Parenting with Love and Logic.  I have to say though, it is way harder to train yourself than it is to train your children.  Right now I'm reading and very much enjoying The Power of a Praying Parent.  So now I ask you, what books have helped you over your particular parenting hurdles?  Please share.  I'm excited to add a few more to my go-to list.  

15 comments:

Neisha said...

I haven't read anything yet so I'm hitting every hurdle...I will add these two to my book list...thanks

The J's said...

I haven't read any for quite a while, but the last good one I read was "Have a new kid by Friday" by Kevin Leman. I thought it was great.

Mindy said...

oh, i read that one too, maxine. sorta forgot about it. i can't remember what his philosophy was.

Lani said...

Maybe I should take more time for reading. lol. Thanks for the recommendations.

Gary said...

My philosophy on parenting books is that they are good for two things. Raise your kid a little higher at the dinner table and to whack 'em on the butt when they need a little course correction. :D

Darla said...

Sandra Dodd's Big Book of Unschooling is awesome...in my opinion. It's a whole new twist that has helped me greatly in 'letting go' of some of the cliches of what we expect of kids. I hesitate to recommend it because it's out of the ordinary but if you read it with an open mind and pick and choose what works for you it's a great resource.

Mindy said...

thanks, darla. i was starting to think i was the only one that liked to read books like this!

Darla said...

Oh I am a book reader..it helps me refocus and remember 'better' ways of dealing w' things.
Do you mind if I put your blog link on my blog roll?

Mindy said...

of course not, darla. thanks for asking!

Ethel said...

can i leave a msg? some places i can others i can't..anyway..love good book suggestions!

Little Miss Nobody said...

I've enjoyed Parenting with Love and Logic, too. It makes a lot of sense. I think it's time I reread it, though, since we're going through another new set of challenges with Ethan. I'll have to look for the other book you recommended. In our ECFE class we've been going through the book "Taking back Childhood." It's got some interesting ideas in it, too, although I'd go back to Love and Logic before that one, I think. I haven't read your blog for awhile and was just reading through your list of things to keep your kids' school days go smoothly. I'd have to say that your list is pretty similar to ours, so that's reassuring! I was never a very organized mother until Ethan started school. I've gotten much better about applying some structure to our days since then and I agree with you about having the afterschool tasks get taken care of right away when they get home from school. I made a chart with pictures of Ethan doing each activity that he needs to do when he gets home from school and hung it on his cubby in the mudroom. He still needs prompting to check the chart sometimes, but I think some of it is starting to become habit. I also think that sticking to a set bedtime that allows at least 10 hrs of sleep per night helps, too. Wed nights that's not possible, but I try to stick with it the rest of the time. As for me, I need to learn to get to bed on time myself, too! That's where I fail! Thanks for the tips! I've enjoyed reading your posts.

The J's said...

Oh...I want to read Sandra Dodd's book, that sounds great! I'll have to watch for it. Thanks!

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Helen said...

I like the love and logic books also. Want to check out the unschooling one also. I'm still mourning moving away from Montessori school.

Heidi said...

I'm a slow in responding...haven't read blogs in a long time! I love the Love and Logic stuff, and a book that made me pause in a HUGE way was called Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves. I don't agree with everything in it, but it was so good to make me stop and think about just what I'm trying to accomplish sometimes. One big lesson I took away from it is that we ALL need to be validated. Even if we're wrong, we need to be heard. Our children need no less than we do.