How to Be the Parent You Always Wanted to Be by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Title: How to Be the Parent You Always Wanted to Be
Author: Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Read by:  Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: 1 hour, 8 minutes
Source:  MP4 Audio from Simon & Schuster Audio – Thanks!

I previously have listened to the audiobook How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish and picked up some good tips.  How to Be the Parent You Always Wanted to Be is more of a review of that book with great examples on how to work through common problems.  Topics include dealing with strong emotions, setting firm limits, resolving family conflicts peacefully, engaging your children’s cooperation, and expressing your angry feelings without being hurtful.

I liked that it was an hour long and something I could listen to on my phone while doing chores.  It was a good refresher and I will be listening to it again.  I would recommend this to those that have listened to or read How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk for a review and for those who have not listened to it or read it for a quick snippet on what you could expect to find in the longer book.

The narrators are the authors and are interesting and engaging.  They put such feeling into acting out the scenes and children’s voices. I could relate to many of the examples, but I really liked the ending where they point out that all parents are not perfect and will not remember all of the tips.  That made me feel better!

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

Title: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk


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?