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Summary: Wordy and repetitive best describe this book
Review: I enjoy reading but found my mind wandering when reading through Smart Love. I think it's because the same sentences and phrases are repeated over and over and over again. I have only read the book through the chapter on one to three year olds (where I'm at in parenting) and have developed a strong adversion to the phrase "inner happiness."The ideas presented are interesting and helpful with my child, only the text itself is repetitive and draining on the attention span. For example, Chapter Three sounds like a reworked revision of Chapter One. How many chapters does it take to repeat an idea (even a good idea) over and over again?
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Summary: THIS BOOK TELLS YOU WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT OF YOUR CHILDREN
Review: My problem as a parent has always been knowing what it is reasonable to expect of my children. This wonderful book lays out what is normal for children from babyhood to adolescence. I learned that I have been expecting waaaay too much of my kids and that they will outgrow many of the behaviors I have been fighting with them to change. Suddenly our house is peaceful and pleasant and I feel so much more confident about what I am doing. This book contains vital information not available in any other parenting book -- see for yourself!
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Summary: This is THE best parenting book!
Review: I have read them all and this is the best of the best parenting books! It showed me that the most effective way to manage my children's behavior is positively not negatively. I have put the Piepers' wonderfully practical suggestions into effect and every one of my four children ages 6 mos to 9 years are blossoming with this new approach. Our house has gone from a battlefield to a warm and nurturing environment. Try this book for yourself!
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Summary: Not as helpful as I expected
Review: I am pretty disappointed in this book so far. I am about 1/2 way through the chapter about children ages 1-3 (pertains to my own child). And so far I haven't found anything new that helps me in guiding my daughter - I have pretty much already been implementing this approach without knowing it.I have been reading many child care books over the past months and was excited about the idea of this book. The book description and approach are excellent. However, I am not finding the book itself well-written. I am having so much trouble keeping focused on the words. The first three introduction chapters were most difficult (very repetitive) - the same words "inner unhappiness" appeared in every paragraph, over and over. I just haven't gotten much out of the book.I just keep waiting for some strong advice ("hows"), not more "whys".I have a hard time with some of the advice given too. For example, in the 5th chapter, even when you have prepared a full meal, if your child wants to eat something else, give them what they want. This just doesn't make sense to me.Because the idea behind the book is great, I'd recommend it for parents who are not sure of the right approach in "disciplining" and interacting with their children. But for those that are already loving and truly focused on their child's upbringing, it's not worth the time reading.
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Summary: THE book for every parent.
Review: My five children range from 8 months to 13 years of age and I often feel the need for expert advice but don't want to buy a book for every child! Not only that, but I have not found the books I have read very helpful because they are either too harsh or too utopian and they are so narrowly applicable. Smart Love offers a coherent understanding of what parenting is all about and what growing up is all about. Smart Love is smart because it offers a game plan for parenting your child from birth through adolescence. The principles and guidelines make sense and carry forward. At the same time the book makes clear how my children's minds are changing and growing and what is reasonable to expect at every age. I have relied on this book for dilemmas I have had with each of my children and each time the advice has been terrific and the problem I was having was completely resolved. If you have children of any age, this is the book for you!
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Summary: THIS BOOK BLEW ME AWAY!
Review: I LOVED this book. I am so tired of books that tell me how to control my kids' behavior as though they were supposed to respond like trained dogs. THis book shows you how to raise children who will be caring adults who can take their place in a democratic society, not trained puppets who slavishly follow authority. Yet the authors are not permissive. They showed me parenting techniques that work in the short run and that unlike all the other books are also good for the long run. Buy this book -- it is crucial for every parent and for our society!
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Summary: MORE THAN ONE CHILD? YOU ONLY NEED THIS ONE BOOK!
Review: I have three children, and my shelves were filling up with parenting books. They told me "how to" but none of them told me "why." Now comes Smart Love, which tells me Why, When, What AND how to. I now know how to respond to my children today and also where they have been and where they are going developmentally. For the first time, I really understand the meaning of behavior that has puzzled me with each child, for example, why they start clinging to my leg at about a year of age and don't let go for months. Wise and warm hearted and knowledgable, Smart Love is the best book out there. No wonder Ann Landers recommends it.
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Summary: Straight talk and help for working parents
Review: I'm a working mother who chooses to work but I also care deeply about my children's emotional development. I can see how much my children miss me when I'm at work, but the books I've bought don't help me help them with their feelings. Smart Love both showed me parenting pitfalls to avoid and how to respond to my children's feelings so to safeguard their emotional development. My two year old, who was crying every morning about going to day care is now going happily. His teachers report that he has stopped having tantrums at school and is enjoying the paints and toys. I am so grateful to have this book, which doesn't whitewash the problems of combining work and parenting but shows parents how to solve them! Don't go off to work without reading it.
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Summary: It's obvious why Amazon's editors picked this book!
Review: No question this is a super parenting book -- and one of the few truly different and original ones I have ever read (and I have a shelf of them). The authors gave me so much to think about, in fact a whole new way of seeing my kids that warmed my heart and snapped me out of feeling like a hasseled traffic cop. They put me back in touch with the everyday joy that can be part of parenting if you take their smart love persepective. See for yourself!
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Summary: Not For Working Parents
Review: I have very mixed feelings about this book. As a first time mother of an 11 mos. old baby, I really liked the authors' theories about what causes long-lasting "inner unhappiness" and how parents can strive to prevent this occurence using common sense attention to their child's developmental needs. However, THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR WORKING PARENTS unless they have a very high tolerance for guilt. I was so disappointed to arrive at the chapter on "Smart Loving" through the first year and to have the authors lead with their opinion (discussed at length) that it is critical that one parent be at home full-time. I was taken aback by this opinion (expressed so forcefully) in a book which purported to be about how to approach discipline in a loving, supportive manner. I agree completely with the author's opinion that our society needs to change drastically in order to be more supportive of families. It has not done so yet, therefore many of us work when we would prefer not to. I, like many parents, am conflicted enough about the choices I have had to make without being told I am going to responsible for my child's "inner unhappiness."
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