by Joanna Faber & Julie King

A gem of a parenting self-help book. There are so many worthwhile suggestions but I mostly appreciated the chapter on giving praise. I raised my four daughters when building a child's self-esteem was the cry-word of all self-help books. In schools everyone received an award for whatever they did. I didn't agree wholeheartedly with that concept but I didn't know a better way so I sort of mushed along without a plan. 

This book suggests you don't use praise that evaluates, such as "you are so smart," "you are the best," etc. And don't use praise that reflects on you, such as "I'm proud of you." Instead we want to describe their effort and improvement. I think knowing how to praise effectively is something that can be learned and used on all ages of people, not just the 2-7 year-olds in our lives.

I've oversimplified this process whereas the book explains it very well. Another thing I liked how the book shares ideas on how to deal with specific problems, such as lying, tattling, sibling rivalry, etc. 

I recommend this book to parents and grandparents who want to improve their skills in dealing with our most charges.