Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime: The Best Gift You Can Give Your Kids

Age range: any and all, but intended for parents of children of all ages (including grown, to a degree) I am very glad I bought this book. It is not a magical cure-all book or that disciplining my children is suddenly easy. What this book did for me was give me encouragement, clarity of mind, and some concrete ideas. One of Guarendi’s overarching points is that society today has inundated parents with advice and criticism that undermines our natural instincts as parents. Parents, and particularly Christian parents, should focus their discipline to be motivated by what is best for the child, and for the child in the Christian household this means discipline that shapes them to have godly character and loving, respectful, responsible actions. Discipline with this motivation is for the benefit of the child, not the convenience of the parent. This child is given the opportunity by the parents to grow up to be a mature, productive, confident, and loving member of society. If you are disciplining with this in mind, you don’t have to feel guilty. Yes, you won’t be perfect -- Guarendi is the first to admit he isn’t -- but that’s okay. Guarendi’s book is organized by major topics (discipline: the basics, misbehavior in word, misbehavior in deed, etc.) and framed around questions by parents. This makes his advice well-organized for practical application and an easy reference when a specific problem or type of problem is ailing the parent-child relationship. I read this in it’s entirety instead of picking and choosing problems and found it an easy, non-laborious read. For one, I was thirsty for advice. For two, Guarendi is hilarious. He puts in jokes everywhere, many directed at himself specifically and at the parent generally in a gentle manner that allows one to laugh at oneself. Many other jokes are directed the silliness of our children and our interactions with them. His jokes are loving and humbling, not offensive or misplaced. His book is from beginning to end encouraging. I never felt like he was telling me, I’m doing it all wrong and I’m a bad parent. His message was more, I’m a good parent, I can do this, and here are some ideas to help. He covers issues related to children of all ages and examines how to handle them at the different stages of childhood. This book is chock full of quotable lines; don’t worry, I’m only going to give three here: “Discipline is love in action.” “The question is not, “What does this harm?” but rather “What good does it impart.”” “Good parents make mistakes, lots of them, and learn from them.”

Excellent advice on child rearing. I've raised three successful, considerate kids that each make me proud. So why would I need this? I have a grandson now, and wanted to see what was available to give to my son, his dad. This is one of the books that will be made into a gift. Lots and lots of great advice on how to handle the most common situations. I guarantee this will help you out, and for sure you will remember what YOU used to get up to as a kid, and now you'll know why. :)

Having heard Dr. Guarendi on the radio for quite some time, I was familiar with his child-rearing philosophy. Dr. Guarendi believes in clear communication and positive consequences for positive behavior, and negative consequences as appropriate. He heavily emphasizes consistency in applying consequences. The purpose is to train children to think rationally and develop self control. While one might think this is obvious, my over thirty-five years of public school experience leads me to conclude that many people either do not understand or are unable to apply these principles. Dr. Guarendi's book should be of benefit to many who struggle with parenting. He presents his ideas clearly and with his quirky sense of humor, which many will find disarming, although some who are totally unfamiliar with his radio program might not get it at all. He uses both self-depreciation, and at times, a fake pomposity on the radio and to a lesser extent in his writing. Dr. Guarendi, with his wife has raised a lot of children, ten or so! He has personally experienced many of the trials of parenting, and can empathize with his audience.

I have read the first half of the book and love it. At first I thought the Q & A format would be annoying, but it is thoughtfully organized so that each question leads into the next it reads more like a chapter book with lots of breaks! It supports my initial instincts about parenting, but gives me new things to try (or to remember!) For example: proximity...while pregnant I started parenting my 2 year old from across the room...now 6 months after my daughter was born I am still doing it....no wonder he is pushing the limits. Also, if then statements really working with him too: If you throw your truck again then Mom will put it away for the rest of the day. He has sound common sense advice. Reading this book is reassuring and encouraging. BEWARE...he is OK with spanking, but is not a promoter either.

I've been slowly making my way through this book for the past two weeks and it has been a lifesaver. It's like a breath of fresh air - I feel calm, rational, and in control. My kids are happier. His jokes are so cute, some of them really had me cracking up just because they were so cheesy, and it became even funnier. I started reading stressed and upset and I feel like I'm regaining control. I got a compliment from another mom today about my children's behavior and recommended this book to her. I recommend it to you too!

After having been a teacher for many years, reading plenty of parenting books, stressing out, you name it, this came as a breath of fresh air. I was chuckling all the way through the book as Dr. Guarendi debunked one so-called "expert" after another. He uses practical wisdom as the father of ten children to show you that you can get through the maze of parenting unscathed....and your children can, too. He clearly shows that nobody is ever perfect and this will not irreparably harm anyone. The basic ingredient for all childrearing is just plain common sense....which is the way all children used to be raised. The reviewer who claimed all Dr. Guarendi proposes is simply spanking and more spanking ought to read this book more thoroughly. When I read that review, I could hardly keep from laughing...this individual would do well to delete that review and really read the book before he publishes something so absurd and obviously erroneous. The teacher here would have to give an "F" for a poorly written report. :-)

I purchased this book after seeing a presentation by Dr. Guarendi at a local church in the area. I was just so impressed by his professionalism and realism. He was not trying to press textbook situations on real-life families. (I am a psychologist, by the way.) He uses common sense. Dr. Guarendi is clearly an expert on child rearing both professionally and personally. I would recommend any of his books, but this one especially. Discipline is so important and overlooked by many parents, until it is too late. I did not like the question/answer format of this book which reminded me of Dear Abby. While the information is very good and useful, it's rather awkward trying to locate particular information due to this format. Dr. Guarendi's other books are also worthwhile and some of the information is covered in them as well so looking at them may be of interest if you have a specific issue.

With 3 kids under the age of 10, I am always looking for advice on ways to raise well-disciplined children who still have personality and are fun to be around. This book encouraged me to continue with my current methods in a lot of areas, and gave me some really great ideas of how to conquer some behaviors I had almost given up on. Almost every area I am struggling with was addressed somewhere. I am excited to see that Dr. Ray also has a book on parenting adopted children, since 2 of ours are recent additions and have presented a lot of challenging behaviors. That will definitely be my next read!

Dr Ray is amazing! His advice is given in a way that will have you turning the pages! His talk show is awesome too - The Dr Is In (EWTN radio).

Full of helpful, practical advice and ideas about how to raise your children well. Full of examples and clearly outlined situations to get you through.

A great read and terrific advice

any book by Dr. Ray is great