Recently I was fortunate to be asked to give a read through of "Listen to Me Please" by Dr. Ron Taffel & Ava Parnass RN, MSN with Katie Kaminski.
Apparently, a little bird must have told Ms. Parnass about our behavioral issues with Cheeks. For those of you that are not aware, please see my main blog
So I thought, hmm, why not read through and see what they have to say.
The book follows a lot on how the child is feeling. Which I think, we as parents, can forget that the child has feelings as well and those feelings need to validated.
Cheeks falls right in the middle of the recommended age category for this book. This book helps us parents have real conversations with our children that are three to eight years old. A tough age for a lot kids.
Most children lack the vocabulary or the skills they need to explain why they had a bad day, don't want to do something or are being mean spirited. The book encourages parents to calmly and at a good time in the day, ask the child how/what they are feeling.
Take for instance, the other night, after reading the book, I asked Cheeks what his favorite part of the day was. His response: "Building Lego city with you cause you are my best friend!" Talk about a moment, that made me so happy. Especially since two weeks ago, in the middle of a tantrum, he told me he hated me. Ah, good times!
I then followed up with asking him what the worse part of the day was. He responded with going to the principal. Something he does, every school day, but 4 since Kindergarten began.
We proceed to talk nicely about why and how he could have prevented going to the principal. I praised him for telling me his feelings and told him tomorrow would be a better day.
The book is to be read with a child. It includes pictures of different feelings that a child can point at to help describe his feelings. This is especially great with younger children.
What I really liked, what seemed to help with my little guy was the chapter about "Handling Tough Feelings." I learned that a parent doesn't always have to address the temper tantrum in the midst of it. Perhaps wait until things are calmer, then acknowledge the emotions by saying something like "I see how mad you were, tell me why." In my experience this allowed Cheeks to open up without getting upset again. We try to work through the issues at that time.
"Listen to Me Please" even gives good conversation starters to help you communicate with your child/children. What's especially nice is the book is not preachy or condescending. I've experienced that tone with a few books that I've read and it's always put me off.
Changing things with your child will always take awhile. I expect mine to take at least another 5 years. LOL He's a tough cookie, my Cheeks.
The book will not change things overnight but it's definitely going to help get everthing on the right track, in my opinion.
"Listen to Me Please" is available on ">Amazon. Definitely look into it, you will not be disappointed.
If you already have it, leave me a comment letting me know what you think. I'd love to know.
Apparently, a little bird must have told Ms. Parnass about our behavioral issues with Cheeks. For those of you that are not aware, please see my main blog
So I thought, hmm, why not read through and see what they have to say.
The book follows a lot on how the child is feeling. Which I think, we as parents, can forget that the child has feelings as well and those feelings need to validated.
Cheeks falls right in the middle of the recommended age category for this book. This book helps us parents have real conversations with our children that are three to eight years old. A tough age for a lot kids.
Most children lack the vocabulary or the skills they need to explain why they had a bad day, don't want to do something or are being mean spirited. The book encourages parents to calmly and at a good time in the day, ask the child how/what they are feeling.
Take for instance, the other night, after reading the book, I asked Cheeks what his favorite part of the day was. His response: "Building Lego city with you cause you are my best friend!" Talk about a moment, that made me so happy. Especially since two weeks ago, in the middle of a tantrum, he told me he hated me. Ah, good times!
I then followed up with asking him what the worse part of the day was. He responded with going to the principal. Something he does, every school day, but 4 since Kindergarten began.
We proceed to talk nicely about why and how he could have prevented going to the principal. I praised him for telling me his feelings and told him tomorrow would be a better day.
The book is to be read with a child. It includes pictures of different feelings that a child can point at to help describe his feelings. This is especially great with younger children.
What I really liked, what seemed to help with my little guy was the chapter about "Handling Tough Feelings." I learned that a parent doesn't always have to address the temper tantrum in the midst of it. Perhaps wait until things are calmer, then acknowledge the emotions by saying something like "I see how mad you were, tell me why." In my experience this allowed Cheeks to open up without getting upset again. We try to work through the issues at that time.
"Listen to Me Please" even gives good conversation starters to help you communicate with your child/children. What's especially nice is the book is not preachy or condescending. I've experienced that tone with a few books that I've read and it's always put me off.
Changing things with your child will always take awhile. I expect mine to take at least another 5 years. LOL He's a tough cookie, my Cheeks.
The book will not change things overnight but it's definitely going to help get everthing on the right track, in my opinion.
"Listen to Me Please" is available on ">Amazon. Definitely look into it, you will not be disappointed.
If you already have it, leave me a comment letting me know what you think. I'd love to know.
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