BALLANTINE GROUP Playful Parenting: An Exciting New Approach to Raising Children That Will Help You Nurture Close Connections, Solve Behavior Problems, and Encourage Confidence

i dont have kids but it was good self healing kinda stuff

I never thought that a book on play and play as an activity could be so much transforming. We as parents shouldn't outsource play. Get on the floor. Kids do not need more toys, they need more play, and more of it with you. Written more than 20 yrs back, the book and it's content are still not that much a part of modern day influencers talks. Playing with kids is not easy. But it does becomea a bit more manageable once you understand and start seeing the benefits. Happy play.

I got more out of this book than I thought I would. I was expecting some hints on playing with small children. But the idea of play as a form of therapy had never crossed my mind. But I am delighted that it did. My son is nearly 5 and suffers with social phobia and selective mutism. With that in mind I jumped ahead to the chapter on 'Encourage their confidence' and discovered the "Poopyhead game". What a fabulously fun way to give a child a bit of power in such a safe way. I tried it with two 5 yr olds. One quiet and shy, the other boisterous and confident. They got to break a funny rule and laugh at me. They felt strong..it was obvious. These kids got that from a completely non physical game. I went from there to the chapter on 'Learn to roughhouse'. My husband plays it with our son, but I wanted some ideas on it for me as this is said to be a wonderful confidence game for shy kids. Well I got a few rules to help create a safe environment and an insight into the emotions attached to the game - playfullness, confidence, determination and power to name but a few, and how I might bring those out. Add to that the connections based on love and trust and it's a winning conbination. I then flicked ahead to the chapter on discipline. I certainly expected (and got) a non smacking approach..but this..it was different, and it worked! I'm used to using 'time-out' with varied success. My son reacts to that just how the author writes it. Word for word. So I gave this new approach a try. Success. The idea of instilling good judgement with clear limits from a young age is empowering to kids and builds confidence. It also lends itself very easily to prevention rather than cure. I've had the book for about one week. I've tried a few new approaches to parenting from the book, and for my son it has switched on the power within. This socially phobic child has attended a pre-school Christmas party (approx 60 people), a visit to a friends house (10 poeple)and sat alone on Santa's knee for a chat and photo for the first time. He did all this with an enthusiasm and confidence unseen in him. I am bursting with pride at his achievements of the last week and our household is much happier and calmer for it. I've still got much more reading to do and am loving the new stratedgies to manage time old parenting issues. My only criticism is that the reading can be a bit heavy going at times. For a book about play, it's not what I would call a light read. But really, it's certainly worth persisting to find the gems within, and I'm looking forward to it.

Useful guide to parenting.

My husband and I were in the throes of terrible twos/threenager-dom with our bright, strong-willed daughter. I am a big fan of postive parenting, but the normal books/articles/advice were all coming up short in dealing with these situations. (What do you do if connection and consequences weren't getting you anywhere, but you still have to get dressed and go to preschool?) This book was recommended and I can only recommend it on. We started using some of the ideas even before finishing it and the difference has been amazing. Even beyond the play ideas, I have found that the explanations have helped me to be more mindful in my parenting. One of the best positive parenting books I've found so far. So simple, so practical, and yet so far-reaching.