Rating: 
Summary: Helpful, but...
Review: A lot of this book can be summarized in a short amount of space. But the information given is helpful and I still use it to help teach my kids better behavior. Sometimes I've thought, "Well, is THIS okay for my kids to act like?" She helped me sort out any doubts by letting me know that any behavior that makes me uncomfortable is unacceptable. I feel she spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with the issue of other people telling you it's okay for your child to talk 'that way' and how to deal with them. I don't know anyone who feels children nowadays should be free to express themselves, no matter how rudely. But that isn't to say I know everyone. She is a counselor and maybe has to deal with this with a lot of clients. One great aspect of the book is to work on things not related to backtalking to improve that. The ideas include ways to help children feel a part of the family...give them a sense of belonging. Not normally included with discipline, this is a situation where "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." No brick may fall on your head while you read this, to let you know "this is the magic answer I've been looking for." But you are likely to learn something new about helping children change their behavior and on how to become a better family.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read for parents!
Review: After a miserable Christmas vacation with kids squabbling and backtalking, I found this book on Amazon and ordered it. As soon as I got it, I began to put its principles into practice and immediately saw a difference in my kids. Our home life is calmer and more loving. I feel more respected and worthy of respect. Backtalk is based on the work of Rudolf (?) Dreikurs. I had taken a childrearing course and read other materials based on Dreikurs' ideas, so I was somewhat familiar with the ideas of natural and logical consequences. But this book, addressing a specific childrearing issue, makes the methodology simple to understand and put into practice. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: This book has transformed our home life
Review: After a miserable Christmas vacation with kids squabbling and backtalking, I found this book on Amazon and ordered it. As soon as I got it, I began to put its principles into practice and immediately saw a difference in my kids. Our home life is calmer and more loving. I feel more respected and worthy of respect. Backtalk is based on the work of Rudolf (?) Dreikurs. I had taken a childrearing course and read other materials based on Dreikurs' ideas, so I was somewhat familiar with the ideas of natural and logical consequences. But this book, addressing a specific childrearing issue, makes the methodology simple to understand and put into practice. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: It CAN Be Done; It MUST Be Done!
Review: Finally -- a simple-to-read book with a clear-cut plan to end the snotty one-liners once and for all.
The author suggests that this book be read in one sitting, and I am here to tell you that this is completely doable. The advice is so clear-cut, and the writing style so conversational, that one ends up thinking, "Why didn't I think of this?" almost immediately.
No, this is not a "quick fix." But it is certainly a smart formula for ending backtalk, and yes, it does work!
A word of caution: The reader must be willing to PUT TIME INTO the planning and implementation of the author's system. Bearing that in mind, I believe that any parent who is weary of the eye-rolling, snarling, and snippy come-backs that have become a part of daily-life-at-home-with-youngsters will find this book to be an excellent answer to the unsavory behavioral problem of backtalk.
Kudos to the author!
Jill Schafer Boehme
Author, MY LIMA BEANS ARE ALLERGIC TO MY SPOON
Editor, MOMMY! The Internet Lifeline for At-home Moms
Rating:
Summary: Straight-forward, realistic advice that works!
Review: How many times have you taken your kids on an outing, hoping to have a fun day together only to have it turn into an all-out war zone? I've been there so many times that I thought it was pointless to leave the house. This is one of the best 'parenting' books I've found. I've been doing daycare in my home for 6 years and have 2 of my own children. I'm not a big advocate of parenting books because they tend to be arbitrary and don't allow for the emotional differences in children. However, this book is an exception to the rule. This book doesn't preach or lecture; the author doesn't have the "I'm the expert" attitude that you find in so many other books. Her advice is simple, straight-forward and easy to follow. I read this in 2 days and made the "workbook" up the 2nd day as well. I was amazed how much better I managed the back-talk just by knowing the right steps to follow. The best part is, this approach really works. I've found that you can apply these steps to other behaviors as well and most disappear with the backtalk! If you're looking for an overall plan to follow on a daily basis, I highly recommend this book in conjunction with 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for children 2-12. You owe it to yourself for the peace of mind!
Rating:
Summary: Straight-forward, realistic advice that works!
Review: How many times have you taken your kids on an outing, hoping to have a fun day together only to have it turn into an all-out war zone? I've been there so many times that I thought it was pointless to leave the house. This is one of the best 'parenting' books I've found. I've been doing daycare in my home for 6 years and have 2 of my own children. I'm not a big advocate of parenting books because they tend to be arbitrary and don't allow for the emotional differences in children. However, this book is an exception to the rule. This book doesn't preach or lecture; the author doesn't have the "I'm the expert" attitude that you find in so many other books. Her advice is simple, straight-forward and easy to follow. I read this in 2 days and made the "workbook" up the 2nd day as well. I was amazed how much better I managed the back-talk just by knowing the right steps to follow. The best part is, this approach really works. I've found that you can apply these steps to other behaviors as well and most disappear with the backtalk! If you're looking for an overall plan to follow on a daily basis, I highly recommend this book in conjunction with 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for children 2-12. You owe it to yourself for the peace of mind!
Rating: 
Summary: Sounds Great
Review: I am a teacher. Every day in the high schools I deal with children who backtalk as naturally as breathing. I read this book hoping to get some ideas on how to deal with/eliminate their backtalk. While it was not specific to school, it did give me great insight on the problem, and I have adapted some of the techniques to the classroom. I recommend this book to a parent who is having difficulty with children. It was an easy read, the technique is simple and straightforward, and I beleive it would be effective if implemented properly and consistently.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Works!
Review: I am both a mother and an elementary-school teacher in an American School overseas. I have been having trouble with backtalk for several years from both my daughter, and my kids at school. This book gives an informative, logical discussion of where this backtalk problem is coming from, and indicates that a lot of it has to do with the media. For example, the kinds of shows which were on TV when I was a kid were "Leave It to Beaver," in which the only backtalker was the juvenile delinquent Eddie Haskel! Compare that to today's sitcoms featuring constant backtalking between ALL characters. Other social reasons for the rise of backtalk are also discussed. I read this book and realized that I am always giving my daughter, and the kids at school, too many extra chances to behave. The books discusses a straightforward, yet respectful, strategy toward kids which teaches them to behave in a likewise respectful manner toward adults (the antithesis of what they are seeing on most TV programs). As an amusing side comment, my ten-year-old daughter saw this book and asked me what it said. She does not like to read. I told her that she was welcome to pick up the book and read for herself what it said, but other than that, she was just going to have to wait to find out when she backtalked to me (I said this to encourage her to read). She didn't read it, but told me that she was sure it said to punish kids more, and she immediately started to behave better!! It doesn't say that at ALL, however. It explains a calm and respectful way of TALKING to kids and MAKING and ENFORCING (non-physical) CONSEQUENCES that really works. I have already spoken in this manner to my daughter, and it really does work. It makes me FEEL BETTER as a parent, too, instead of screaming and shouting (and/or spanking) all the time! I can hardly wait for Christmas vacation to be over so I implement the suggestions in my third-grade classroom. If you are having trouble with backtalk, definitely buy this book. You can read the whole thing in about three hours. The discussions are straightforward, and practical. The authors are both Ph.D.'s who are also educators, and parents, as well. They themselves have struggled with backtalk both at home and at school, and are sharing their solutions with others. The book is really aimed at PARENTS, and dealing with backtalk in the HOME, but there is a short discussion on backtalk at school. The BEST thing about this book is that it is not just a theoretical discussion. Many sample conversations with children and adolescents are included, showing how they USUALLY go, and then rewritten, to show how they would most likely go, with the NEW parent responses included in the conversation. So when you finish the book, and think about the first conversation you are going to have with your child backtalking, when suddenly you can't remember what to say! So like me, you can quickly flip through the pages to the ones you've marked with the responses you want to remember, and have the line ready. I used the same line three times yesterday, and it worked like a charm.
Rating:
Summary: You don't need to buy anything else!
Review: I found this book very helpful with setting limits for my two 3 yr old boys' behavior. I actually first read the book on whining by the same authors, and it was a life saver for me, as my 2 boys had just begun to test the limits and push my buttons at the ripe age of 2! It taught me effective ways to disengage and end a pattern that, had I not discovered this book, would have squelched much of the joy of parenting! The techniques do work if one has the fortitude to follow through. I would recommend this book as well as "Whining" to any parent.
Rating:
Summary: Teenager
Review: It was almost time for our daughter to get her driver's license. Her talking back and yelling at me was a scary thought with a driver's license in hand. So we went to a counselor and she recommended the book. I got the tape instead to listen to on my way to work. It was the first day of school, 1999, afterschool she was yelling at me, it was my chance to use a consequence for unwanted behavior. She was grounded, mad and it worked. She tests me still, but knows I won't tolerate the arguments and yelling. The tape gave me a weapon, and taught me it was up to me to change her behavior. Now we have that sweet teenage daughter most of the time. I don't have the concerns anymore of an explosive yelling episode, that were triggered over minor things. Good luck. A very happy mom.
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