Between Parent and Child

This book starts off with the best introduction, "No parent wakes up in the morning planning to make a child's life miserable" (p 1). As soon as I read that I knew I was in for a good read. Between Parent and Child is all about psychological perception and what you say (as a parent), how you say it, and even what you don't say, can influence a child both at that moment and years down the road. What Dr. Ginott offers up is common sense advice about how to communicate with small children and even teenagers. His advice is no-nonsense and extremely practical. It is so straightforward it seems simple, a no-brainer, if you will. The ah-ha moment is not in what to say, it's how to say it to avoid conveying a message you do not intend. Choosing show more tone as well as the right words are crucial to emotionally intelligent communication with a child. My one naysayer comment? Many, many times Dr. Ginott suggests mirroring the child's emotion to illustrate understanding. The go-to catch phrases are "You wish you could play with Sam," "You wish you could have ice cream for dinner," and, "You're angry about losing the game." Here's where I would get annoyed. I dislike anyone telling me how I feel. As a small child I probably would have connected with someone "understanding" me... but as a teenager I wouldn't appreciate dad calmly regurgitated what I just angrily spit out. show less

Very interesting and informative book.
Despite the fact that it's a parenting book, it has loads of important insights for anyone who works or volunteers with children. The information is presented in a straightforward manner and supported by plenty of examples.
I would perhaps have liked to have more scientific data underlying the information, but that would go against the fact that it's an easy enough read.
Recommended.

Very easy to read. Enjoyable. I like the way he presents scenarios. Ginott doesn't only tell what works and why, but also how they should be done. Ginott gives a lot of information concisely. Good as instant reference material because the information is well-divided, presented in bite-sized bits.

Classic parenting book. Centered on love, respect and compassion, while being firm. Easy to read with very good examples. Good ideas on alternatives to discipline besides "time out". The website has good examples and some video interviews of Dr. Ginott. www.betweenparentandchild.com.

Book on parent-child communication that didn't leave me feeling like the way I'd been brought up had completely ruined me.