Author: Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Read by: Susan Bennett
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Length: Approximately 8.5 hours (8 CDs)
Source: Simon & Schuster Review Copy – Thank-you!
I have three kids age’s seven to three. I always like learn new tools to put in my parenting tool box to help to work through the tough times of parenting. I had never heard of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, but the title intrigued me. I was excited to have the opportunity to review the book, and now that I have – I see it everywhere!
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish talk about the joys and stresses of raising their children, and different ideas for how to express your frustrations to your children in a constructive way, instead of yelling. It also gives ideas on how to get your children to talk to you about their emotions for a better understanding between parents and kids. The book also gives guidelines on good ways to talk to children so that they know how you feel, but also how they can constructive problem solve to deal with a problem.
I thought many of the ideas were great and started using them immediately with my children. It especially worked well with my eldest son who is seven. He seems to not whine quite so much now that he feels I am listening to his problems and helping him to solve them. It has also helped with my four year old. Instead of yelling about his coat on the floor, I just say, “I see an orange coat on the floor” and he picks it up. I like that I can get him to get things done without the yelling. It has overall helped to make “crunch time” after we get home and are trying to make dinner, easier to deal with.
I also enjoyed the updated section “The Next Generation” by Joanna Faber. Joanna hit the nail on the head with many topics, such as dealing with the shear amount of homework and business that kids these days have. I really enjoyed her section and listening to the many problems that she has counseled different families with. I think the problem solving section was the most useful and also made me feel that my family is not so different than most!
I really enjoyed listening to this book and thought Susan Bennet did a great job narrating it. I felt I was learning something new on my drive to and from work. The only item I did not enjoy about the audiobook was that during the problem solving sections, there wasn’t enough time to think through the problems as the audio continued on. I also felt like I wouldn’t be able to skim back over topics with the audiobook. Therefore, I purchased a hard copy of this book for reference. I enjoy the cartoon examples especially. My husband is listening to this audiobook now and finding it helpful.
This book did not deal with sibling issues much, which is actually the biggest issue we have with the kids right now. I purchased Siblings Without Rivalry by the same authors and hope this will help me out.
Have you read this book? How did you feel about it? What is your favorite parenting guide?
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