Improving Parent-Child Relations: A Classic Guide for Parents of Children of All Ages

Vianey: Llegó en buenas condiciones

Mexico on Aug 19, 2023

Malorie: This book was recommended to me from my step-mom and it's an easy read - some parts are a little more dry than others (and some of the stuff is a little outdated), but it has some great information and makes some great points.

Canada on Mar 02, 2021

Gina B: This is a book I read when I had my children over 35 years ago. I bought it for my daughter and she loves it. It is still relevant today. A must read for all parents who want to raise healthy independent children.

Canada on Jan 12, 2019

Amazon Customer: This is a most excellent book because is logical and clearly teaches natural consequences. This is not a new concept. It is merely life. Cause and effect. It is easy to read because each chapter is prefaced with a scenario. It could be anyone of us as parents, but the outcome about how to handle the situation is common sense and logic.

Canada on Aug 14, 2017

Amy Barnardt: Children The Challenge was written post WW2 and the Adlerian principles applied to parenting are as relevant today as they were in both the era of Alfred Adler and Rudolph Dreikurs. Many of the examples are outdated but just ignore them if they are irrelevant. Combine these skills with PET and you have a winning combination that will bring peace to your home and let your children up without many of the usual hangups.

Canada on Nov 05, 2015

TwinMom: Great book. I've read way too many child rearing, parenting books, and Dreikurs turns out to be right about a lot of the topics he covers. I initially got huffy about some of his "hands off" approaches, but then I had to face the fact that my babies are growing up, and I am not doing them any favors by hovering around them and trying to protect them from everything, all the time. That really wasn't about loving them, it was about making myself feel better by making myself indispensable. I won't be around forever, and for better or for worse, my kids will have to grow up and cope with their own lives. We are all more relaxed, and happier since I've read this book. I can't believe how well my kids have been able to handle normal adverse events in their daily lives.

Bottom line: keeping your kids helpless and dependent (below their appropriate functioning level for their age and stage) is not loving, it's unhealthy.

He also does a great job of discussing birth order and roles in families. It's frightening, how easy it is to label kids at an early age, and how much of a negative impact this has on them. It's really hard to step back and let them become who they really...

United States on Sep 29, 2014

Y. Wilson: Hi. I'm a mother of 4 children ages one to eight. We home educate (for academic reasons) and are Christian (Mormon). This book has taught me how to parent like I believe our Heavenly Father parents us. He gives us rules and guidelines but also respects our agency. There are natural consequences to our misbehaviour that apply to all, even Himself.

This book taught me so much about myself and how the parenting I received from my own mother and father has shaped my behaviour. This was not expected but came at a very needed time in my life. The truth really does set us free. When we can look at ourselves and understand why we have certain behaviours and where they stem from, then it is easy to see the error of our way. We begin to uncover the lies that we have been telling ourselves since we were children and begin to let truth dominate our behaviour and lives.

Letting go of control over my children was very difficult for me personally. That may not be the case for all but that was the biggest hurdle for me. Instead of parental control, rewards and punishments, we now use rules and systems we all agree on, so that we may live more comfortably together. The children learn...

United States on Nov 05, 2013

Talia Carner: Be loving but firm.
Parents talk too much. Replace talk with action.
The freedom to wave one's hand stops a few inches from where another's nose begins.

Those are some of the lessons I had learned in the 70s when rearing my children to be civilized, considerate and compassionate. The world came to their doors, breaking the boundaries which my protective arms wanted to hold fast. I learned from Deirkurs to let that world enter my children's world naturally, without my changing its rules. I learned from Dreikurs that daily life could be a lot simpler and manageable if we, parents, did not complicate it with over-doing and over-talking.

Therefore, if you do not eat at mealtime, I will not put more food in front of you an hour or two later.

If you bicker with your siblings to get my attention, I will remove myself from the situation so you can solve your problems on your own.

But if you are a bully, the world will not permit you to join it ranks. You will be banned from civilized activities.

I only say something once. The next time, without words (not even repeat for emphasis), I will act. (i.e., drive away without you if you are not ready,...

United States on Jan 05, 2007