This is a book that anyone can read and feel a sense of understanding about. Mr. Kelly hits the nail on the head w/ regards to self esteem and its relationship to the addictive process. I also like how he gives examples throughout the book as identifiers.

As a therapist in the addictions/eap field I have suggested this book on more that one occasion to individuals coming in to discuss the concerns for their children. It speaks to the lay person in common sense language and guides them on a path that can be difficult but will pay benefits in healthier family relations and children who will have improved skills to navigate the many obstacles to becoming productive individuals.

John Kelly makes key points when he reminds his readers that adolescents have not fully matured emotionally. Parents need to help their children through their emotional growth. Parents are helping their children when they keep a close watch on them and also when they provide behavioral boundaries such as strict curfews, appropriate activities and guidance in selecting friends.

The book is well written, with many case studies. It is a quick but important read.

Warning Signs by John Kelly and Brian J. Karem is a must- read for parents in this demanding and fast paced world where nurture and love are essential for developing a healthy value system for childhood development.

Easy to read and chocked full of common sense based on years of counseling troubled children and their parents, Kelly gives practical advice and sets priorities where they should be. Those of us who have children intrinsically know we should spend time with them and that building self esteem pays untold dividends in the future. Our actions as well as our words convey messages that our children pick up on and listening to what they say is vital.

When something cataclysmic happens most of us turn to see if our loved ones are unharmed. As parents time invested with our children ought to be our first priority rather than the more superficial goals we chase each day. Thanks, John for the advice.

Frank Adamson Retired Chief of Criminal Investigations King County Sheriffs Department
Seattle, Washington.

This collection offers a loving tribute to fathers and their special magic with children. Some of the themes are bittersweet (separation, growing up), but they are all treated with a straightforward honesty that touches the heart. There's plenty of whimsy, too, from "daddy hugs" to the dad who's a cool dude. Dads and kids alike will love this book.

In my mind good poetry is language that paints a vivid picture. "Daddy Poems" not only paints vivid pictures but will pull at your heart strings as well. This book brought tears of emotion to my eyes remembering my Father, and my children. Worth every pennie. Review written by a male, first grade teacher, and father.

This selection of poems for the young is a delightful collage.From whisker scratches (Porcupine Pa) to baseball gloves (FirstBaseball Glove) to nighttime (Bedtime Ritual), these poems ring true for all fathers who deserve to be called "Daddy." Casilla's multicultural illustrations are a perfect match for Micklos' collection.

You can find a lot of books about parenting, but many of them are just pop psychology, the solitary opinion of the author.
Gottman is definitely not one of them. He is known as one of the leading psychologists in the area of family and marriage psychology. This book presents the essence of his research findings about raising emotionally intelligent children.
His advise is surprisingly easy and is based on a 5 step model:
1. Be aware of your child's emotion
2. See your child's emotions as an opportunity to be close together
3. Actively listen to your child and validate the feelings
4. Help your child to verbalize his feelings
5. Help your child solve problems, while setting clear limits

Gottman clearly explains how you can implement this 5-step-model in daily life and what to do when problems arise. His real life examples make reading really fun.
All in all, an excellent parenting book! As a supplement, I can also recommend the book by M. Seligman: "The optimistic child"

This audio book has opened my eyes to what children are really thinking and how to deal with them. I have tried the recommended ideas with my own daughter and it has worked wonders. It can be difficult at first, but with patience, these ideas will create a bond between you and your child that you may not have known could exist.

"Emotional Intelligence" has recently been recognized as an important life skill. A combination of important traits (including self-discipline, ability to handle anger appropriately, self-esteem, empathy, and social skills), emotional intelligence allows one to handle life's frustrations and to "work and play well with others." These skills have been shown as more important than I.Q. as predictors of success in one's personal relationships and career. This wonderful book teaches parents how to raise their children to have emotional intelligence. The book sees children's problems and frustrations as opportunities for "emotion coaching" - helping them learn how to deal with their emotions. The book also identifies four "parenting styles" - two of these styles react negatively to chldren's negative emotions, one style accepts them but doesn't help the child deal with them, and the "Emotion Coaching" style accepts the emotions and teaches the child what to do with them. I wish my parents had had this book - I was a "difficult" child, prone to tantrums, etc., but much of my difficulty came from feeling frustrated and not knowing what to do about it. My parents were loving, but didn't really know how to handle the problem. This book will create greater understanding between parent and child, and will help the child grow up to be an emotionally healthy adult.

You might buy this book as kind of a gag gift for new dads, but it is loaded with actual content. How to skip a rock across a pond. How to teach a kid to ride a bike. Etc. The kinds of things you really admired your dad for because he could do them; the kinds of things you would like your kid to remember you for. It's funny and light-hearteded but years later you will still be sneaking a peak at it for a refresher course (even moms will!)

As the founding "Father" of a group of at-home-dads I'm always on the hunt for any kind of helpful resource to pass on to my Dads. This book has proven to be one of the most well received. As any of you that have read my other reviews know, I RARELY give 5 stars. This book is just that well put together.

The book doesn't dwell on the fact that Fatherhood is just now coming into it's own. Instead, it presents basic Dad-stuff info in an easily digestible and accurate fashion in combination with some pretty humorously drawn pix.

Each topic, from tying shoes to riding a bike to tying a tie (roughly) takes about a page or so and presents it's information fairly in depth, but still very easily read. Imagine this as the little yellow book you got for your driver's test; there's 10,000 other things you'll need to know also, but this will help you pass the tests that tend to show up every few months after the age of 4.

I highly recommend this book for any new Dad; At-home or not!!

This book makes a great gift for expectant or new fathers. It offers instructions on everything from teaching how to tie knots to teaching a child how to ride a bike! Humor and good instructions help the new dad as they grow with their child.

This is a wonderful little book for children and adults alike, and it focuses on giving the blessing to children, much as Trent has written in other books, but this one is focused on the children, and what impact that can have on them.

The story follows Norbert and the fact that no one wanted to sit with him on the way to school. And his way to school is exciting - they all go on a rollercoaster. Now that's what I call creativity. Judy Love has done some marvelous illustrations, and you just want to jump on this rollercoaster with all the others.

A great tool in the hands of parents and caregivers to give the blessing to children.

I volunteered to read at an elementary school at a Read in and the class consisted of 2nd,3rd, and 4th graders- The teacher loved the story and the kids absolutely enjoyed it. I'm ordering 2 copies-1 for my 7 yr. old and the other copy I'm going to donate to the class.

"I'd Choose You" is a great book to help a child gain self-expectance. It has colorful illustration of animals that are used to help a child understand the five elements of the blessing: spoken words, meaningful touch, attaching high value to someone, picturing a wonderful future and genuine commitment

My 4 year old granddaughter and I are having so much fun using the ideas in this book. Most ideas are inexpensive and easy to do, and new, or with a new twist. It helps using their organizing tips too. I used their ideas for the 'Little World Box' and the 'Craft Box'. We also created a box for water fun, and one for dress-up. There are plenty of activities that can be done with a child, or that children can do in their own. The activities encourage original thought and creativity. This book is well organized, fun to read, and I recommend it HIGHLY to all parents, grandparents and child care providers.

As the busy mother of two active boys, I need all of the inspiration I can get. The material is presented in such a practical, yet humorous way, that I couldn't put the book down. There's a list of generally inexpensive products to keep around (I was delighted to find that I already have many of them, since they are regular household objects). This is a big help when you get to a particular chapter with great ideas and want to try them immediately.

I also liked the lists throughout the book labelled "Complete Waste of Time" or "The Worst Thing to Do"--I hadn't thought about storing glue in an empty yogurt container, but you can bet I won't now!

Even though I've only had the book for a few days, I've already tried some of the ideas:"Imagine That! They're Working!" and "Box City".

My 7 year old really loved the games and ideas in this book, and so have I! They're easy and fast. I tried Truth or Lie while we were waiting for the doctor and we've been playing it ever since. There are just lots of fun (and funny) things in the book. It's tough keeping an only child busy, believe me, but this book is the best thing I've ever found. My son even helps me cook now! Cindy Levy, New Orleans, La.

Although I just received the book today, I have scanned through it. The information will be beneficial to my study.
This book was ordered through Finest Books. They indicate in an enclosed letter that they are a new company. I am completely satified with the time frame in which the book was delivered, the packing, and the condition of the book. I feel completely confident that this company is not only reliable, but will benefit others with satisfaction guaranteed.
Thank you Finest Books.

Deborah K.

While the book is full of theory that might discourage someone from reading it, it has an absolutly fantastic practical implacation worth the effort! The second half of this book, "Educational Implications" discusses the Zone of Proximal Development. Learning about this "Zone" plus the discussion regarding how children learn to read and write, tells those of us who really want to help children learn, ways to set-up an environment and activities to do it!!
Don't let the theory scare you away, this is a MUST READ!

This is one of the earliest and still one of the best introductions to socio-historical psychology, the study of how individual human intelligence develops in interaction with people and the environment. In concert with many contemporary approaches in cognitive science today, Lev Vygotsky, A.R. Luria and A.N. Leontiev argued that human intelligence is characteristically mediated through objects and social activity. Humans think through tools. Talking to oneself, for example, is not an irrelevant activity. Putting one's actions into speech is a way of focusing one's consciousness on the problem. This kind of speech is not pointless, but rather a cognitive tool that gives one a greater awareness of one's own actions and makes it easier to modify these actions--a point that Vygotsky proved with research on how children solved problems. Much of human activity involves making use of tools, signs, and activities, the kinetic melodies of action and conceptualization that make us smart, and through which we are able to accomplish the uniquely human feats of complex intellectual action. This is an excellent place to begin studying Vygotsky and activity theory. If you like this you will also like A.R. Luria's *The Making of Mind*, and the classics *The Man With A Shattered World* and *The Mind of a Mnemonist*, the books that inspired Oliver Sacks' writing.

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I am surprised that the principles in the book are not more commonly used by educators. Clear and practical information and guidelines cover every page.
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Many of the behavioral modifications recommended by Dr. Maag don't just work in our interaction with our kids, they also work quite well with adults.
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Probably the most interesting benefit I got from the book has been the opportunity to alter my own behavior, which, in turn, made a world of difference in helping our daughter to alter hers.
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Highly recommended reading for parents, educators and for anyone looking to find different, more effective ways of dealing with others and with our own imprinted habits. An open mind is required for the readers of this book to gain any noticeable benefit.

"Parenting bookshelves typically contain dozens of books offering endless techniques for behavior modification. This book may be the one that will help parents sort out the worthwhile from the drivel. John Maag, PhD (Univ. of Nebraska) offers a strict and compassionate approach to behavior modification, arguing that punishment per se is almost never effective. The trouble is that we expect the good and punish the bad and this only leads to confrontation. Maag shows us how to use reinforcers, star charts, time outs and contracts, concluding that self-monitoring by kids leads to self-control. Finally, he 1ooks at ADD and depression as behavior problems that parents can deal with rather than as psychiatric labels attached to kids. Maag brings years of working with exasperated parents to his work. Refreshingly full of common sense and well worth reading." -- Library Journal

Even though there are one million books on parenting, very few of them are useful and very few provide information that is actually helpful. This book is different; provides really sensible information. Life with my children has actually improved since I've applied the knowledge I received from this book. What a relief to finally have a book that deals directly with the ins and outs of punishment and offers a better way of disciplining children other than grounding them

This book affords significant attention to the trauma of sibling abuse. Until this impressive work by Caffaro and Conn-Caffaro, we have not paid enough attention to sibling relationships in our research and practice on family violence and child abuse and neglect. The authors bring considerable insight and clinical experience to the issue of sibling abuse. This book will enhance practitioner's knowledge of sibling abuse dynamics and treatment strategies and makes a contribution to the entire field by encouraging a broader discussion of the life-span developmental impact of sibling abuse.

Over the last two decades, there has been a proliferation of research and writing on child maltreatment. Debates have ensued over children's memory, suggestibility, and truthfulness. Research has mushroomed on child sexual abuse and child abuse and neglect. There has even been focus on the perpetrator and the nonoffending parent. One area, however, has almost consistently been ignored: the area of sibling abuse. This book is a welcome and required addition to our developing literature on abuse.

Nicely integrates theory, research, and the considerable clinical experience of its two authors. It is written with a healthy and complex appreciation of broader issues in the field of family violence and family therapy and gives a great deal of thought-provoking case material for those interested in understanding more about sibling abuse dynamics and its potential treatment strategies.

I first read this book 7 yrs. ago when my husband and I were expecting our first child. We now have a 2 yr. old girl as well. I had actually all but forgotten about this book but accidentally came across it the other day as we have been preparing for a move. I have not been able to put it down since. The authors have made an amazing discovery through their experiment on 250 couples that is amazingly accurate in assessing the health of one's marriage post-baby. Going from a couple to becoming parents is the hugest adjustment most couples will go through, and this book illustrates which marriages are most likely to end in divorce and which are most likely to survive this difficult adjustment/transition. I have been astounded to find myself, my marriage, and my parenting and relating styles on these pages. I just ordered another copy to my best friend, who's a newlywed, contemplating having their first child! I highly recommend it to all first-time parents, and even if you've been a parent a while and want your marriage to be better, it will help point out things you can change and ways to improve your marriage.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to enter parenthood. Extremely incitive, even a bit scary at times. While it is written as a case study, it is still easy to read. This book has passed through my entire circle of friends.

The book focuses on the most important relationship to a baby--how the parent's relate to each other after the first child is born. The stability and love (or lack thereof) in the parental relationship creates the environment in which the child is raised. Men and women have different expectations and reactions to the birth of a child. This book is a long-term case study of what types of marriages grow stronger, stay the same or get weaker as a result of the birth of a child. The insights I gained helped me to modify and be aware of issues in my marriage that having children creates. I believe my marriage has grown stronger after children and part of the reason was the insight gained from this book.