Wednesday 13 November 2013

Product Review: Who Runs your House … The Kids or You?

Now we've all read our fair share of parenting books, right? … at least I have.  I've read some that made me feel totally inadequate, some that I found really helpful and others that make me cringe with the idea of explaining and negotiating with a toddler who is having a screaming tantrum at the shops or some other public place … really, is negotiating at that point actually going to get you anywhere!?!  

While I by no means think I have this whole parenting thing worked out, I do feel like I've learned to trust my gut instinct a bit more these days, especially regarding what works for me and us in our family!  So, when Rochelle of Wordstorm contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reading and reviewing a new parenting book called Who Runs Your House, The Kids or You? by Karen Phillips, I figured there'd be no harm in getting another opinion on parenting…after all, knowledge is power, and all that!  So I received my copy, and while travelling to Adelaide to visit a friend and her tiny new bub last weekend, I used the time in the air to have a read.


And I have to say, I really liked this book.  While I'm an absolute advocate for doing what works for YOU and YOUR family in YOUR situation, I find that the vast majority of tips and ideas in this book were in line with my general thinking.  Things like not being afraid to say "no" and sticking your ground,  how to use "yes" to your advantage, and about ALWAYS being consistent, no matter what.  I also loved the part about following through with threatened consequences.  How many times have you heard a parent threaten "if you don't stop that, we'll go home right now!", only to then witness the behaviour continuing and the parent having no actual intention of going home?  I also enjoyed reading about giving kids choices of acceptable behaviours, so they have the power to choose but the parent is still ensuring good behaviour. 

One thing I was challenged about was how much kids model their behaviour on on how we as parents behave…and since reading this, I have seen a few occasions where I have told Bethany off for something, only to see her turn around and talk to Hannah in the same tone … Ouch!  Yep, I'll be working on how I communicate with my girls … no matter how frustrated and tired I am and no matter how much of a rush we're in.  It's a tough one for me, but it's hardly fair to expect the girls to speak nicely to each other when all they get is nagging from their grumpy, tired Mummy.

Anyway, if you're interested in finding out more information about this book or it's author, head over to the webpage here, and if you're interested to buy, it's available as an eBook for $9.99 ($AUD) or $29.99 for a paper-back version.

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