Parenting with Love: Making a Difference in a Day

I highly recommend this book. It isn't a new book. It was published in 1999. But all of the suggestions are based on behavioral research. In fact, as an educator none of the ideas were really new to me. But since becoming a parent it is easy to forget basic behavioral principles and easy to find yourself lecturing and yelling at your own kids to no avail. It is a short book and easy to read. The suggestions are fairly easy to understand and implement. The author does mention that he wrote another book that goes into more detail and addresses tougher behavior problems. I have not read it, but it is something you might want to be aware of if you are having more severe behavioral issues with your kids. Still worth the read and the strategies would be helpful, but it might not address all of your concerns or issues.The author is a Christian and I thought there would be more "religion" in the book, but I think the author maybe only mentions it once or twice. It really was focused on research with some of the author's personal and professional experiences helping children and families mixed in for examples. So if anyone has qualms about the religious aspect, fear not.My only criticism would be some of the sample dialogues are a little corny. (Think "Leave it to Beaver", 1950's style communication.) My guess it is due to the book being 20 years old and the age of the author. It doesn't distract from what the author is trying to convey, but it is hard to imagine kids actually talking like that now. Also, there are a couple times the author seems to go on a bit of a preaching tangent. He really doesn't like modern music! And by modern, I mean anything since the 1960's! I quote, "in the early sixties. I was teaching special education at a junior high school. Those were the days when the sweet, melodic strains of contemporary music were just beginning to be invaded by the loud, disgusting, indelicate sounds of what opened the floodgates to the sewers of cacophony that have so thoroughly polluted today's recording industry." Whew! Those tangents are few and far between, but I did get a bit of a laugh out of it. Don't let it deter you from getting this book!

This book is perfect for those who want help but get overwhelmed by parenting books. It is only 87 pages long so you can read it in one sitting. The principles are basic and easy to understand and REALLY WORK (because they are the principles every parenting book talks about, just quick and easy to understand!). It is about changing YOUR behavior as a parent and that will help the child change their behavior. I have used this book to lead group parenting discussions and workshops for 2 years and those who learn and use the principles truly see a change in themselves and their children.

I love Glenn Latham books. He is a gifted writer and psychologist.This is a great book. I have several of his books and have never been disappointed by any. Another good book he wrote is: The Power of Positive Parenting. If you want to do it right as a parent then buy his books. He shows you how to teach with love. One quote from his books is this" You don't get someone to do better by making them feel worse. Profound thoughts and advice. I highly recommend any and all of Glen Latham's books.

This books was short and sweet. Every page has powerful tools and research to back it up. No fluff in this book but I really loved it!! Definitely one I will refer back to frequently.

The late Dr Latham has a legacy to be proud of. This wee gem of a book contains essential advice for any parent - it is the manual our kids should have come with. I originally bought Dr Latham's much larger and more comprehensive Postive Parenting, and it made a huge difference in my interactions with my children. I became much less stressed out and more confident. I knew which behavior to safely ignore and I understood the power of parental attention - both postive and negative in shaping my children's behavior.But - there was a problem remaining - my husband was reluctant to study the text-book sized tome! I tried to explain things to him, but he wasn't convinced by my summary. He had an extremely authoritarian parenting style and he dismissed my explanations as being too soft, or 'letting the kids get away' with stuff. Because I was experiencing success with the children's behavior, My husband accepted that there was something to the method. In many instances he copied my actions but without understanding the underlying principles there were occaisions that ended in tears. So between his unwillingness to study the textbook himself, and dismissal of my explanations, we ended up going in circles with the children being angels for mum and playing up for dad and the divide widening almost daily.Then I found this wonderful little precis of Dr Latham's work. It is small and concise enough for my husband to open, read a small section, and learn some new technique in a few minutes. It now has pride of place next to the toilet(!) where hubby can upskill himself painlessly and without taking up too much of his precious time. Our whole family has become more relaxed and co-operative, and the children are rebuilding a lovely relationship with their Dad. My husband will always have an authoritarian bent - but he respects the science behind Dr Latham's work and is gradually modifying his own behaviour as he experiences success with the children.If you buy one parenting book this is the one to choose (especially if one parent is more interested than the other). Understanding the underlying principles of behavior will allow you to adapt them for any situation - as opposed to other parenting advice books which run into series of ten or more books with highly repetitive advice for every situation imagineable.Postscript: I have seen criticism in other reviews of Dr Latham because he was a Mormon. What bigotted nonsense! He was a highly respected behavioral scientist and his work is based on science not religion. He has written a few books which adapt his science for both Mormon and Christian parents which you are free to buy or not (I did not), and which are clearly promoted as containing religious aspects. But this book, and the larger Positive Parenting, are valuable to parents of any(or no) creed.

Great Book! Less than 100 pages. Straight to the point. One story to illustrate each point (not 4 or 5). Teaches you 4 behavioral truths that parents need to know. Then tells parents what to do when their children are being good and then what to do when they are not being good. This is one of two great "first books" for parents. BTW: I teach parenting and am a MFT.

Reading the examples in this book, I realized that I was precisely the negative parent the author describes. My negative behavior is obviously reflecting on my 11 year old, and it is a daily struggle. The suggestions here seem do-able, and we are going to try it. Will update with the results!