Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Authors: Wendy Mogel
List Price: $14.00
Amazon Price: $11.20
Usually ships in 24 hours
Reviews:
Summary: Helpful book
I find I don't come down solidly on either side of the argument between putting children's needs first or maintaining a more traditional strict discipline, denying kids' their wants to build character. I think of the former as the theory promoted by La Leche League, and I do feel that kids have legitimate needs, and those needs should be acknowledged and met.
This book provided a good counter balance to the La Leche League approach, and helped me see where, at times, a more strict approach to withholding some priviledges is beneficial in the long run.
We're all aware of how over-scheduled children have become - soccer practice on Monday, ballet on Tuesday, piano on Wednesday, cheerleading on Thursday. Games, performances, recitals all weekend. This book reminds us of some of the more important family values, that could benefit our children more than an assortment of lessons and activities.
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic Book
I just finished this book - I tore through it in a couple of days, just couldn't put it down. It is such an inspiring book, both for parenting and for my own spirituality. I recommend it very strongly. I expect to re-read this at least yearly.
Summary: One Excellent Conceptual Framework for Responsible Parenting
I just finished this last night, and I plan to go back through it again. It's one of the better books on raising children that I've ever read. Mogel is a child psychologist with a definite slant--for her, a lot of the answers to parenting problems lie in encouraging spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our children. You don't have to be Jewish to find great material in this book--I'm not--but you definitely need to accept the premise that human beings are happier in a spiritually enriched environment.
I have already started implementing some of Mogel's suggestions for fostering responsibility in children and encouraging them to be grateful for what they have (as opposed to constantly needing more to be satisfied). Moreover, I mean to stay mindful of her emphasis on a parent's need to accept a child's basic nature. If you can name the personality trait in your child that drives you insane, Mogel says, you have already named his greatest strength. Helping to raise him to his greatest potential involves teaching him how to utilize his nature, not how to subvert it. Unlike some modern psychological parenting texts, _The Blessing of a Skinned Knee_ doesn't pretend that children are blank slates to be filled with whatever we please. Instead, Mogel offers practical suggestions for working with the material we're given.
One of the elements of the book that I would most share with my friends involves discipline. Mogel breaks down transgressions by intent and offers concrete ways to deal with them compassionately and calmly. She several times references Biblical exhortations to discipline--not in a pro-spanking stance, but in reminding parents that this is a responsibility that comes with the territory. I wish that some of the more stern parents of my acquaintance would read her arguments against shaming children. Mogel does not believe that discipline requires humiliation. Those who swing the other way--me included--could benefit from her section on restitution. My 8-year-old suffers an overly developed sense of guilt, and I am hoping that following her suggestions for restitution will allow him to feel a healthy sense of closure and relief.
While every reader of books of this type needs to exercise discretion in determining what will work in his or her household, there's a lot of solid advice here. It doesn't address every situation or every concern, and I don't believe it intends to. What it does is provide a framework for a new way of thinking about parenting which might be useful when you encounter those situations not covered.
Summary:
,
amazon.co.uk
,
google.com
