If you had to recommend just ONE GD book for DH..

[Hokulele]

If you had to recommend just one GD book for DH, what would it be?

My DH is the most gentle, even tempered man I know. He never ever raises his voice or gets riled up about anything. He is accepting and understanding... basically wonderful.

BUT - we have a three (almost four) year old. I have seen DH's temper rise almost daily recently. His normally boundless patience is shattered before midday, on the days when he is home from work. And his attempts to deal with DD's three-yr-old-ness are not helping either of them.

I want to help him be able to understand WHY she does what she does and HOW he can approach it in ways that help him not get worked up. We talk about it, but I really think it would help for him to read something, not just hear me say it.

Trouble is, he has very little time and might get disinterested in a book that was too lengthy and not straightforward.

So what book would you say is THE one to read? (Goodness knows I could benefit from reading it too!)

[mom2grrls]

It's hard to recommend one but i'll go with Kids Are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso. it's not a long one I just read Playful Parenting and that's a good one too. Would he be willing to look at some websites instead?

[Rico'sAlice]

OK not sure why I read such gender differences into these books, but I did.
For a father/non-primary caregiver I might recommend "Playful Parenting." Lots of practical things to do right away.
As a mother I found "Raising our children, raising ourselves" Naomi Aldort much more of (good!) work for me to do on myself. Very internally challenging.
I think "Kids are worth it." is a good middle ground if you want to read the same book. But "Unconditional Parenting" is also indispensable and pretty gender neutral.

I would read as many of those as you can. It can be hard to find the time, but if $ are what's stopping you don't forget you can get them from the library. My library is small so they had to be ordered but still arrived in less than a week.

[LynnS6]

How to Talk So Children Will Listen - short, sweet with cartoon summaries.

Second would be: Kids, Parents & Power Struggles by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. Actually, maybe that would be first.

[labdogs42]

How to Talk or Playful Parenting. I'm going to see if I can get my DH to read just ONE chapter of Playful parenting to start with (the chapter near the end on discipline) and then on to How to talk. Maybe we can form a support group for moms trying to get their DH's to read parenting books! :

[bendingbirch]

I would recommend The Gesell Institute's "Your Three Year Old" and then I would recommend The Discipline Book by Dr. William Sears. It is not my favorite discipline book by far, but it was written by a father of eight children who is a pediatrician, and I think for many men that alone carries weight. LOL

[bendingbirch]

The other thing to consider is if the La Leche League in your state has a state conference, many times there are entire sessions on gentle discipline, fathering forums, developmental stages of kids.
Just a thought. My husband was a co-moderator of the Father's Forum of our state LLL conference this year and thought it was a blast. Great place to meet like-minded dads and see how experienced dads handle things.

[foreverinbluejeans]

Love and Limits, Elizabeth Crary

[St. Margaret]

Originally Posted by bendingbirch

The other thing to consider is if the La Leche League in your state has a state conference, many times there are entire sessions on gentle discipline, fathering forums, developmental stages of kids.
Just a thought. My husband was a co-moderator of the Father's Forum of our state LLL conference this year and thought it was a blast. Great place to meet like-minded dads and see how experienced dads handle things.

This is a great idea! Also, there is a DVD of Unconditional Parenting, which I've heard is a great for just this situation, dads who can't read the book. Then I'd go with How to Talk b/c it is so straightforward, with clear cartoon examples and concrete details.

[Ell-Bell]

I agree with Playful Parenting. It doesn't get too deep into the psychology of why the kids are doing things, but it has a lot of great examples and realistic ideas. I have been using the techniques since I started reading it and it's really been great.

Unfortunately it's not available in an audio format, so my DH won't read it. I might be able to convince him to read a chapter or something- although it's on my Kindle and I don't know if I can part with it. :-)

I also suggest the DVD of Unconditional Parenting.

[Hokulele]

Quick question...

I just went on Amazon and noticed that there are two very similar books titled "Playful Parenting" One by Cohen and one by Weston.

Which one are you all recommending? (Or are they both worth taking a look at?)

[Ell-Bell]

lawrence Cohen- this one

[lisad1]

I found that Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn really made sense to both my dh and I. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

[b_light]

I'd recommend Attached at the Heart. There is one chapter on gentle discipline, but it covers a great deal in a short space. Would one chapter be more likely to be read than a whole book?

At the end of the chapter, there are recommendations for further reading (pretty much every book mentioned in this thread is in the recommendations), but it gives short little bits from a wider ground--you can learn a lot quickly AND find what you want to read more about (if he wants to ).

Other than that--I second (third, fourth?) Playful Parenting. And possibly How to Talk so Kids will listen and listen so kids will talk--it's not my favorite, but could be really useful for quick answers, and it's a fun read. I'd also recommend Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids. It's a fairly quick read, and very simply laid out (this is my favorite book written solely about gentle discipline).