The Key To Your Child's Heart

Rating:
Summary: pass on it.
Review: I can not recommend this book enough to all of the parents I know. After reading "The Key to your child's heart", my parenting techniques where quickly and definitely being improved and empowered. My children began to respond to me in a much more positive fashion 'cause they knew my heart was in the right place. In summary, a parents ultimate goal is to work themselves out of a job by raising self sufficient, confident and independent young adults! Thanks Mr.Smalley!

Rating:
Summary: The Key to Your Child's Heart
Review: I've often heard said that the key to a man's heart is through his stomach. So, I guess it follows that the key to a child's heart is via beating his/her backside?

If your Jesus would advocate hurting another human being for some greater good, I don't want to know your Jesus.

Rating:
Summary: take it with a grain of salt
Review: Overall,I believe that the book provides some good commonsense
advice.I do not doubt Dr. Smalley's credentials or his sincerity.However,I have a major with Smalley's overemphasis on the importance of spanking.In fact,the spanking method smalley used on his own kids was much more harsh,cruel,and potential injurious than anything advocated by Dr. Dobson.
Dobson's idea of spanking is a maximum of three light strokes with a switch.Smalley would force his kids to lie flat on their stomachs on a bed,and then he would paddle them at least until they cried.My friends who paddle their kids make them bend over a chair,and never use more than 4 or 5 swats.Forcing a kid to lie on his/her stomach and then insisting on making him/her cry is foolish,especially for kids with tough seats who resist crying.Smalley's advice could inadvertantly lead to abuse.Smalley did not mention whether he did it bare bottom or not,but parents who choose to paddle their kids bare and use Smalley's technique could very easily bruise their childen.It is obvious from the doctor's description of the punishments that his kids were terrified of him and his spankings.The eldest child got in trouble with the law as a teenager.I was only whipped in school,not at home,and I was never arrested-case in point.I was better behaved and a better student than Smalley's heavily spanked oldest.Be careful with this stuff.Only very strong and resilient kids can be tortured like this without harm.

Rating:
Summary: Sharing Life together in the Family
Review: Smalley's book on parenting, "The Key to your Child's Heart" invites parents to share life together with their kids, heart to heart, at the daily, emotional and spiritual level of life. His over-indulgence in lists (84 ways, 4 basic types, 2 factors, 3 powerful ways, 19 ways, 6 characteristics) cheapens the material in this book in my opinion. But Smalley had condensed into this volume a wise perspective on parenting and dozens of practical ideas for improving your family life.

Also recommended--THE FAMILY CLOISTER: BENEDICTINE WISDOM FOR THE HOME, by David Robinson (New York: Crossroad, 2000, 192pp., trade paperback).

Rating:
Summary: take it with a grain of salt
Review: Smalley's book on parenting, "The Key to your Child's Heart" invites parents to share life together with their kids, heart to heart, at the daily, emotional and spiritual level of life. His over-indulgence in lists (84 ways, 4 basic types, 2 factors, 3 powerful ways, 19 ways, 6 characteristics) cheapens the material in this book in my opinion. But Smalley had condensed into this volume a wise perspective on parenting and dozens of practical ideas for improving your family life.

Also recommended--THE FAMILY CLOISTER: BENEDICTINE WISDOM FOR THE HOME, by David Robinson (New York: Crossroad, 2000, 192pp., trade paperback).

Rating:
Summary: My parenting textbook
Review: This is the book I turn to every time I have an issue with my kids that needs to be resolved, or even when I just need to be re-ignited with a passion for pouring my life into my kids. Besides his easy-flowing, excellent writing, the principles he teaches are unbeatable. Unlike the other reviewer who disliked the lists, I found them to actually be a helpful part of the book and I didn't skip over them as I tend to skip over lists in other books.

Yes, Gary is an advocate of spanking, which I will make no comment on here other than to say that I also believe in it. But throughout the whole book, including the parts about spanking, it is so easy to see the tender, loving parent that he was/is, as he encourages me to be as well. I was actually encouraged by the creative types of discipline that he suggested as well.

I've decided to read this book again every year as my children enter new phases of life so that I will be able to remind myself of these principles and apply them to my changing family. Thank you, Gary, for your encouraging wisdom!