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Wednesday
21
July
How to parent smarter, with a little help from an expert
Betsy Brown Braun's You're Not the Boss of Me promises to brat-proof your 4- to 12-year old, and so my natural aversion to parenting manuals was overcome by curiosity as to whether such a thing was actually possible. I quickly fell deeply, shamelessly in love with Braun's no-nonsense, straightforward approach to parenting productively.
"Don't bother with 'good job,'" she says. "What does that even mean, anyway?" A simple change to our automatic inclination to offer praise -- mention how responsible your child was for making that particular choice, for example -- and now you're fostering good choices rather than just saying something meaningless.
This book tackles the big issues with suggestions that are totally doable, as well as remembering to bring the humor and remind us that parents are humans, too. And I giant pink puffy heart the places where she gives different suggestions for different age groups side-by-side, so that you can really see what developmental changes in your child require on your behalf, too.
I don't know if I'm ready to declare my children completely brat-proof, but I definitely feel like we're getting closer. -Mir
You can purchase You're Not the Boss of Me from our affiliate, Amazon.
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I'm going to check this book out soon. Offering a narrative of behavior instead of labling it has been so much more effective for me when interacting with kids. Another great book is "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen So They Will Talk." Keeping that playful attitude during serious times is essential!
I actually just went and ordered it... my son is 3.5-years-old and I am trying to raise him to be a non-bossy man. I think this book could help. I plan on reading it and then passing it on to my husband and parents (especially my parents).
hmmm...not a very original title. The waldorf community had a book come out a few years ago (2007) titled "you're not the boss of me, understanding the six/seven year old transformation" edited by ruth ker.