1-2-3 Magic by Thomas Phelan

I re-read this book this week after a small parenting crisis. Both of my children have been quite rude and difficult to deal with in the last few weeks. The methods in this book do really work and it is a very easy read. The basic principle is that you decide on behaviour you don’t [...]

Third Culture Kids – David C Pollack an Ruth E Van Reken

 Oh I am in shock. Avid reader that I am, I somehow missed the fact that there is a bundle of books that deal with my exact life situation – moving frequently with kids in tow. I don’t know how I missed it but I now have a whole slew of books to get through. [...]

The Explosive Child – Ross W Greene

 The subtitle to this book is “ Understanding and Helping Easily Frustrated, “Chronically Inflexible” Children “. Yep, thats my child. Chronically Inflexible is an excellent description. He’s definitely easily frustrated too. The book is very easy to read and quite straightforward. If anything, its a bit repetitive. It has very clear methodologies for dealing with such [...]

The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers by Elizabeth Pantley

  This book was recommended to me as my 3.5 year old still has some sleep issues. It did have some good ideas in it, and was easy to read. Its definitely worth a look as a refresher on sleep issues, which you tend to forget as soon as your kids are sleeping through the night, [...]

God is Not Great – How Religion Poisons Everything – by Christopher Hitchens

 I guess the title should have made it obvious, but I was surprised with the vehemence with which the author attacked religion. I have had my moments of thinking religion is evil, but I doubt I was ever this bloody-minded about it. The author backs up his anger with lots of presumable viable statements of [...]

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

This book takes the form of a memoir, sort of. Each chapter tells the story of researching a restaurant and finishes with a review, or a recipe. The author was the restaurant critic for the New York Times and, in this book, spend a significant amount of time disguising herself in order to get a [...]

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim Fay and Charles Fay

I was introduced to the Love and Logic series recently by a friend. They have a website : http://www.loveandlogic.com/ and several books. This one was available at the library straight away and relevant to my kids ages.
I like the concept – a parenting style that is loving and caring but has logical consequences for misbehaviour. I [...]

Almost French by Sarah Turnbull

A book about an expat Aussie who moves to France to live is right up my alley. I haven’t lived in France, much less Paris, but we did move 6 times in 7 years and we are offically expats. I like the style of the book – it had a good balance of French culture [...]

Freeing Your Child From Anxiety by Tamar E Chansky

Another book on anxiety in children. This one is a little more structured. It goes through what is fear and what is anxiety, when help is needed and strategies to help your child. The approach recommended is basically to teach your child that they don’t have to listen to that “worry voice” in their heads. [...]

Your Anxious Child by Mary Ann Shaw

My older son shows some signs of anxiety over a few things and I thought it might be useful to read how the professionals recommend dealing with, so it doesn’t escalate (’cause that’s what I do – read books !). This one was pretty basic. It just dealt with the basic forms of anxiety and [...]