There Ought To Be a Law!
by Ellen C. Braun
Filed under Resources & Tools
Once upon a time in the future, when I form a utopian community
that benefits all types of children, I will enact the following law:
The fabulous book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish entitled “How
To Talk So Kids Will Listen, And Listen So Kids Will Talk” will be
required to be sold together with every pregnancy test in the
country!
The other gem of a book: “Siblings Without Rivalry: How To Help
Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too” will be bundled
with every pregnancy test for a second child.
(Perhaps I will allow the books to be returned with proof of a
negative pregnancy test, what do you think?)
I read these books years ago, it’s likely that you did as well, as
they were first published back in the ’80′s. However, after
re-reading them this week, I have gleaned so much additional
practical wisdom that I sincerely feel they should be compulsory
reading for every parent!
If funds are tight, go to your local library; however I strongly
suggest that you buy these incredible books so that you can refer
back to them often. Your children and grandchildren will thank
you, and you will feel your confidence as a parent soar!
So, go to your local bookstore and pick up a copy for your family’s
benefit ASAP!
If you are like me and appreciate a bargain, search Ebay- I love
buying valuable books for prices like 99 cents!
Here’s a link to all of Adele Faber’s books on Ebay:
www.raisingsmallsouls.com/how-to-talk.html (I’ve redirected the
link to my site to avoid the long URL breaking up.)
If you have not yet experienced the bargain-hunting thrill of
shopping on Ebay, here is a link to register for free:
www.raisingsmallsouls.com/register.html
I just purchased “Liberated Parents, Liberated Children” also by
Faber and Mazlish on Ebay for 99 cents, and I’m excited to receive
it in the mail! Teachers will also appreciate “How To Talk So Kids
Can Learn”.
Also, look out for more exciting features coming to RaisingSmallSouls.com
very soon; I will be adding an interactive Parenting Book Club
shortly!
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Hi Ellen,
I just joined your list and how ironic it is that in your first message you mention the two books that changed my life. You see when I was 32yo I visited my much older sister in Texas while on a business trip. Physical distance—I lived in New England—and expenses had kept us physically apart over the previous 12 years so we didn’t really know each other. Fortunately over the next several months I had many business trips to her city and I always stayed with her family the weekend before and after my week-long business trip.
On one visit she wanted to know why we didn’t have any children. I shared that from my viewpoint siblings never got along although her two were the exception to that rule — you see she and I are the only two of 5 siblings that speak to one another — and why should I have a child who wouldn’t want to talk with me. She advised me to read Faber and Mazlish’s books so that I could see a different approach to parenting before I wrote it all off.
Once home I picked up both books and read them cover to cover. I cried, I laughed and I finally understood why all my siblings dislike one another as I saw my parents portrayed in the “What not to do” comic strips.
A few years later we finally became parents to Michael and then to Mark. Over the years these two books have been reread many times and they still remain by my bedstand for me to glance through as a reminder of how I should be parenting.
My boys are now 14 and 10 yo and I often hear from others about how lucky I am to have two kids that will talk easily to their mom and get along so well with each other. It isn’t luck just the constant use of Faber and Mazlish’s approach. I have often given the “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen,…” book to first time parents and “Siblings Without Rivalry” to second time parents. They should be required reading in my book. too for every parent.
Yes their books really changed my life.
Carole
Middletown, DE