The Family Game: A Situational Approach to Effective Parenting

Here is a unique new approach to family life that will help you relate effectively to your children in almost any situation - from household chores and grades to swimming lessons and teenage sex. Knowing how to respond to your children is the key to good parenting, say the authors, and they have developed a practical approach that will help you "grow winners." Using numerous examples and anecdotes, the authors' explain how you can understand why kids behave as they do and influence them in a positive way. First of all, you need to know the specifics of the situation you are trying to influence and then act in the most appropriate manner. For instance, Jackie may not require a lot of supervision when she's learning how to play tennis, but she might need a lot of attention and help with her social studies homework. Hersey and Blanchard bring together in an easy-to-understand manner many of the currently popular child-rearing concepts, so that you can understand the specifics of a situation and maximize your effectiveness. Once you know the specifics of a child-rearing situation, you can respond with the appropriate parenting style: "telling," "selling," 'participating," or "delegating." The authors offer numerous strategies for using these parenting styles to make effective day-to-day decisions about your children. You can reduce discipline problems and help your children become independent, self-motivated people who can take charge of their own lives. This book will show you how.