Home Improvement by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller Review

Home Improvement
The Parenting Book You Can Read to Your Kids

This book is more than just a parenting book. It's a tool to use with your child. Each chapter is divided into two parts. The first part is a fiction story about a family who experiences problems and then learns a new tool. Read this section to your child. It presents family issues from the parent's perspective. Children are often blinded by their own viewpoint and seeing the problem from the parent's view is eye-opening. Furthermore, it opens opportunities to talk about ways your family relates and ways you can make changes.

In This Book You Will Learn...

- Four truths that will motivate you to continue on when you're tired, discouraged, and ready to give up.
- A powerful strategy to help children change their hearts--not just their actions.
- A unique concept that will reveal the cues you give to tell your children when they must obey.
- A six-step "Secret Weapon" you can use when all else seems to have failed and you need a bigger plan to help children develop character, not just change their behavior.
- Three practical ways to be a coach to your children and help them learn from life.
- One small ingredient to add to your parenting to help your children develop wisdom.
- A three-step plan to help your children deal with anger through frustration management, anger control, rage reduction, and releasing bitterness.

An eight CD or MP3 series entitled Eight Secrets to Highly Effective Parenting is also available.

My Review:

This was a really nice book to read and review my techniques when I am with the kiddos. I really liked the "break" instead of a time out. It seemed more positive to me. I also really liked the chapters in anger. It was interesting to read about how you should end angry actions early, rather then letting the child vent, even though they have every right to be angry. I never thought of it that way, and it is true with stomping feet. It just gets worse because the kid gets bigger. I also thought that the book was well written and I could easily explain everything to the kiddos. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review from NCBP, however all opinions are my own.

Disciplemaking at Home: Raising Kids to Follow After God by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN BSN review

Disciplemaking at Home:

Raising Kids to Follow After God 

by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller,  RN BSN

Parents have a job to do–pass the faith on to their kids. This book will show you how. Parents are the primary spiritual and moral trainers of their children and much of the everyday work of family life is the classroom where children learn. Here's what you'll learn in this book. 

You will learn
•  Fun ways to pass the faith on to your kids.
•  How to use spontaneous moments to teach children what the faith is all about.
•  A biblical understanding of the conscience.
•  How to develop internal motivation in kids.
•  A plan to help children take responsibility for their part of an offense.
•  Ideas for teaching kids to take initiative instead of relying on parents to get things done.
•  Ways to move from behavior modification to a heart-based approach.
•  Tools to develop integrity in a child.
•  How to get kids to be others-focused instead of self-focused.

My Review:
This is a great book to use while your children are taking catechism classes. I did my student teaching at a Catholic preschool and I learned how to turn normal situations into teachable moments. I can remember reading a book about planting, and talking about how God created the sun to help the plant grow. I even incorporated rain and pollination. While reading this book I learned ways to show kids faith that I didn't even think of before. I am also a Godmother and my husband is a Godfather. It is a role we take very seriously. This book not only gives great examples but it also discusses more than just what you can read in the Bible. My favorite part was part two, on morals. Little kids do not really know what the word moral is. However it is very important to teach right from wrong at a young age.  I liked that the authors used scripture to explain and I also liked that the talked about the Holy Trinity. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review from NCBP Book Review team, however all opinions are my own.