The Pocket Parent Paperback – April 1, 2001

I think this is a great book with many easy to use, quick reminders of ways to manage your kiddos! It's a good list of things you can try to get the behavior you're looking for. It gives tips for potty training, what to do if they're using bad words, fighting, etc.If you look up 'power struggles' the book encourages you to try not to ask yes/no questions if "no" is an unacceptable answer - you've just set yourself up for a struggle if the kid says "no". Instead reply with "Yes, after you..." It also suggests that when you state your request in as few words as possible it is less likely to be tuned out.Or a discipline technique reminds you to make the consequence of misbehavior immediate (e.g. timeout vs. moving bedtime earlier from 7:00 to 6:30). If the consequence is too far away, they don't associate it with the behavior.It also helps reinforce good behavior. For example, if you look up 'self-esteem' it reminds you to praise your children for specific things (e.g. "Thank you for picking up all your toys and putting them away neatly" vs. "Good job"). It also suggests not using "best" and "greatest" as in "best swimmer" which can create difficult expectations to live up to. Instead, praise them for being "very creative" or "doing a smart thing", not "being the smartest kid".It's easy to read and provides useful tips or scenarios from various individual's experiences.In short, no two kids are alike and no one strategy works all the time. I recommend it as a resource to give you ideas about different things to try with your kids.

My son is 4 and lately has been exceptionally difficult to deal with recently. When family members started to refuse to watch him because of his behavior we decided enough of was enough.I searched quite a bit before finding and settling on this one. Before this I had purchased 3 other books but didn't even make it half way through the book for putting it down. Many were more "philosophical" rather than practical advice guides so I was a little skeptical when I read the reviews on this because many of the other books were also rated highly.I can honestly say that within 20 minutes of reading this I could tell this was the book I'd been looking for. It didn't have all the philosophical "fluff" that other books had but in stead is straightforward and a practical solution to toddlers with unruly and embarrassing behavior.What's also great about this book is it offers several solutions to problems you are encountering with your child. It isn't a "one size fits all approach" which most of the books seem to be.I would highly recommend this not only to people have strong-wild toddlers but to anyone who has a child ages 2-5.

As other reviewers have said, this is a quick reference to many questions you might have about your toddler's behaviors & "quick" ways to help diffuse frustrating situations. I haven't finished the book because I started to read Dr. Karp's "The Happiest Toddler on the Block". I read reviews on both books before purchasing and decided to give them both a chance. Although Dr. Karp suggests that our toddlers are "little cavepeople", his way of discipline through very few words does work. Once you bring yourself down to your child's level of language - they listen to you. I'm glad I purchased this book even though I'm finding the "Happiest Toddler" book to be more helpful - this one is good for my husband to flip open to a section (which are only a few pages) to give a quick read.

As a mom of a 4 year-old and twin two year-olds, I purchased this book on a whim one night after an especially trying day and bedtime routine! I was on the hunt for a parenting book to give me the little tricks that other parents have to manage temper tantrums, hitting, talking back, bedtimes, etc! I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book (which thankfully came quickly from Amazon) and impatiently read through the chapters that were most meaningful to me. What I found inside was rational and clearly explained, and very relevant to the common parenting issues. As a critique, I found that the book was much better geared toward the 2-3 year-old age group of problems than those of 4-5 year olds. I also found that this book basically reinforced many of the steps that I was already doing as a parent. Still, this is a nice little reference and not a bad one to have....especially for those times when you need the reassurance that you are making the right decisions. Also, the book is very easy to read, which a stressed-out parent might really appreciate!

I am so pleased with this!! I bought several parenting book as my 2.5 year old son is quite strong-willed. I receive all the email newsletters and have friends with child psychology degrees for advice, but the reality is: every child is different! I wanted a book with a few new ideas and a basic guide of development at this age. This book hits it head on.It's set up in chapters that focus on various topics and you can just look up a topic and flip to that chapter. There is no need to read it front to back. It also has short paragraphs as a "quick-fix" suggestion, which is awesome for my husband who is open to new ideas, but will never sit there and read a whole chapter.I've been reading it straight through. I really emjoy the tone of the book; it is friendly and warm. It takes into account how pressed for time and how many competing priorities families deal with nowadays. It really has assured me that the approaches I'm taking are solid and that my son is simply a 2.5 year old. It reminds me of the importance of modeling the behavior I want to see. This seem so obvious, but it is nice to just be reminded and assured that you're not alone in your frustration and that none of us are perfect. The suggestions are very easy and several have worked really well with my son.Excellent buy.

I decided to buy this book after having read several reviews and thinking it had to be worth a go. We have a stubborn 2 1/2 year old (plus a baby on the way) who has recently started playing up at bedtime and we weren't sure what else to do to get her to settle without major tantrums. Although we have only read a few of the sections so far, we've already had success at bedtime after trying a few of the points, so it's already paid for itself as far as I'm concerned. I've even managed to get my husband to read some of it (who hates reading), and he agrees that there are practical and sensible solutions and has even made notes! There are lots of topics covered, so I think this will become a really handy point of reference over the coming months, especially as it's well laid out and concise. Not all of the points will be relevant/appropriate all the time, but there are definitely some really useful suggestions and also often explanations behind why you do/don't do something. I would definitely recommend this to other parents.

I really wish there was a 'when _____ happens, do _____" manual in existence (you know, that jived with all my vague personal opinions on discipline etc). While this certainly is not a 'we know best' type manual at all, it is nice to be able to quickly find the issue I'm currently dealing with and be given suggestions on how to handle it. I dare to say it is better that simply googling and finding all sorts of ideas from all sorts of non-reputable sources. I find the voice in this book to be matter-of-fact, sympathetic, and non-condescending. I appreciate that. I bought the kindle version so it's on my phone, and yes, I've whipped it out while the kid is in time-out and I'm not sure what I'm going to say when I go in there! My daughter is 2.5 yo and she's at the young end of the spectrum that they are offering advice for so I'm sure this will come in handy for a while.

Very informative book that's not difficult to read at all. Super helpful as well! Very happy with this purchase

I have read quite a few of these type of books and although they have all contributed to the way I am trying to raise my children this book has helped me the most. This is my first port of call when feeling stressed and out of control. I have now got rid of all the other books and just use The Pocket Parent - that's how good I think it is.My children are now 5 and 3. The book has been really helpful to me for about the last year and a half - before then I wasn't able to implement the ideas and suggestions quite so easily which I think is because the kids were too young. It's easy to use, laid out in a clear concise way and although obviously 'american' in style easily translates to our British ways! As far as I am concerned a 5 star buy and well worth it. Good luck!

I love how everything is broken up into separate 'problems' such as 'biting' or 'refusing the potty'. It's nice not having to read a huge philosophy essay on child rearing - if something comes up that you need help with just flip to that page and read that section to get some ideas on how to deal with it. Very practical parenting advice.