Rating: 
Summary: Disciplining your Preschooler
Review: 'Discipline without Shouting or Spanking', 'How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will, too!' and 'Positive Discipline for Preschoolers' are three different books with almost identical messages. All believe that shouting and spanking are counterproductive and that successful discipline requires a parent or caregiver to calmly teach and reinforce the rules of good behavior. 'How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will, too!' and 'Positive Discipline for Preschoolers' are both 300 plus page books and are arranged similarly. They begin by explaining what is typical preschooler behavior and what developmental factors are at play during this stage. This information encourages parents to make a paradigm shift and see "bad" behavior as developmentally appropriate behavior that needs the gentle hand of an adult to help channel it. They then follow with in depth discussions of good discipline strategies and how they differ from our natural knee-jerk responses. Both books end with practical examples of how to apply these discipline strategies to common behavioral problems. I would recommend either of these books to anyone who has come to see that shouting and spanking doesn't work and wants to learn what does. 'How to Behave so Your Preschooler Will, too! is written in an organized, succinct, clean style and will appeal to those who enjoy a "textbook-like" book. 'Positive Discipline for Preschoolers', on the other hand, has a more friendly, meandering tone and is written in a "chatting over a cup of coffee" style with tons of first hand accounts thrown in. "Discipline without Shouting or Spanking' is half the size of the previous two books and confines itself to practical applications. An outline format is used to discuss 37 common behavior problems. For each behavior problem it offers several suggestions to prevent the problem, solve the problem and even what not to do. Each discussion ends with an illustrative story. I would recommend this book to those already convinced that "positive discipline" works and looking for an easy to read, "in the trenches" handbook. All three books are excellent resources for the parents and caregivers of preschoolers but as their content is so similar, I'd strongly urge a potential buyer to take advantage of Amazon's Look Inside! feature and purchase the one whose format and writing style most suits your literary taste.
Rating:
Summary: Great Resource
Review: Dr. Nelsen and her co-authors have presented parents with a treaure chest of ideas in Positive Discipline for Preschoolers. They have consolidated many years of counseling experience into a balance of the larger picture needed to begin steering children into adulthood with the nitty-gritty of coping with the daily adventures of raising youngsters. From setting the stage to taking the long view of parenting, this book helps separate the fantasy of 'doing it like my parents did it' to 'seeing my child as the unique being he/she is requiring creative responses to daily situations'. If you want to get fresh ideas on how to encourage positive behaviors, develop logical consequences that are respectful yet effective, or master the challenges of sleeping, eating or potty training, this is the source for you.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for parents who want practical, useful advice.
Review: For once, I've found a great parenting book that gives easy-to-understand advice and concepts on the art of raising a respectful and happy child. It also introduces a parent to the concept of identifying and respecting a child's developmental stage. This greatly puts a parent's mind at ease: the more you know, the better you'll react to negative behaviors in a constructive way. Have questions? The book systematically takes you through "positive" techniques on how to stear the child toward positive behaviors. Let's face it, we're all prone to knee-jerk reactions when it comes to child-rearing, e.g., we react to negative behaviors in a way that could prolong or promote more negative results. I loved the way this book wove in real-life anecdotes and real solutions to everyday questions that I have as a parent.
Rating:
Summary: The best parenting book out there!!!
Review: I have read many parenting books and this one tops them all! I could have saved myself alot of money if I had read this sooner rather than bothering reading all of those other books. Reading this book has greatly improved the way I parent. I believe that my son, who is four and I have both gained alot from my getting this book!!! I HIGHLY recommend reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: The best parenting book out there!!!
Review: I have read many parenting books and this one tops them all! I could have saved myself alot of money if I had read this sooner rather than bothering reading all of those other books. Reading this book has greatly improved the way I parent. I believe that my son, who is four and I have both gained alot from my getting this book!!! I HIGHLY recommend reading this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Still Not Helpful If You Have Kids Under 3
Review: I read this in addition to "Positive Discipline" (see my review for that), because I was desperately looking for some advice on the 2-3 year old. Unfortunately, neither books addresses this age group. It seems if you have a "terrible 2" year old, you just have to wait it out until they reach 3 or 4, and then apply the rules of positive discipline. The concept of positive discipline is GREAT, but very hard to do. This book was not written as well as "Positive Discipline" was. It had way too many examples and not enough solutions. For example, the issues of hitting (kids hitting kids) is barely discussed. Basically, I think reading "Positive Discipline" is sufficient, and this book does not shed any more light, even though it claims to address preschoolers.
Rating:
Summary: Still Not Helpful If You Have Kids Under 3
Review: I read this in addition to "Positive Discipline" (see my review for that), because I was desperately looking for some advice on the 2-3 year old. Unfortunately, neither books addresses this age group. It seems if you have a "terrible 2" year old, you just have to wait it out until they reach 3 or 4, and then apply the rules of positive discipline. The concept of positive discipline is GREAT, but very hard to do. This book was not written as well as "Positive Discipline" was. It had way too many examples and not enough solutions. For example, the issues of hitting (kids hitting kids) is barely discussed. Basically, I think reading "Positive Discipline" is sufficient, and this book does not shed any more light, even though it claims to address preschoolers.
Rating:
Summary: Still Not Helpful If You Have Kids Under 3
Review: I read this in addition to "Positive Discipline" (see my review for that), because I was desperately looking for some advice on the 2-3 year old. Unfortunately, neither books addresses this age group. It seems if you have a "terrible 2" year old, you just have to wait it out until they reach 3 or 4, and then apply the rules of positive discipline. The concept of positive discipline is GREAT, but very hard to do. This book was not written as well as "Positive Discipline" was. It had way too many examples and not enough solutions. For example, the issues of hitting (kids hitting kids) is barely discussed. Basically, I think reading "Positive Discipline" is sufficient, and this book does not shed any more light, even though it claims to address preschoolers.
Rating:
Summary: This book has changed my life
Review: I'm not exaggerating when I say that this book has the best information I've ever read and believe me I've read a lot! I've spent the last 20 years reading every book and magazine article I came across on parenting skills and child development. This book has given me such insightful information I truly feel I'm a different parent than I was before.
A previous review stated that there wasn't any information about dealing with a three-year-old that hits. There is an entire section addressing aggression in the book. It starts on page 105 and goes through 113. On page 110 it specifically talks about hitting. The entire book addresses principles, child development and parenting skills that would address this issue.
I'm so much more patient now that I understand where my three-year-old daughter is coming from and the techniques and suggestions in the book are working like a charm. Understanding the different personality types in reference to children and adults has taken away a lot of my fears that "I've done something wrong." "Why is she slow to join in the activity?" "What should I have done differently." While there certainly are things that parents need to be conscious of when raising their children, understanding that we need to accept them for who they are is one of the most important lessons we can learn.
The examples in the book of situations we all face as parents was interesting and realistic. I will forever be grateful for finding this book and am recommending it to all my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bit Too Liberal for Some Parents...
Review: If you're conservative, this book probably isn't for you. It's full of the old self-esteem curriculum you see so often in our public schools today. There are a few good ideas, but I found it dense and lecturing to parents. Overall disappointing...
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