A Handbook for Happy Families
Published: 2002
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Description
Dr Irvine advises parents how to use practical solutions to common difficulties with children of all ages with an emphasis on drawing families together and having fun.
This book provides ideas for parents on 40 or more common problems with children of all ages. Dr John Irvine's responses to these problems - which he encounters in his clinic, his public talks and on his Web advisory line - are arranged in three age groups: baby to preschool, primary school and high school years.
The book offers advice which first appeared in Dr Irvine's Coping With The Family but which has now been revised and expanded. This includes new information, more emphasis on having fun in your family and an expanded teenage section. The advice in the book is suitable for all family structures (including single, step and weekend) and for grandparents.
One outstanding new inclusion is Dr Irvine's own clinically trialled and tested "Feeling face fridge discipline system", which heals problems through remediation rather than by getting even or hurting back. It works well for all age groups and uses playful feedback and logical consequences to draw families closer together instead of driving them apart.
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happychild's Review
This book lives up to its "handbook" title because it covers the whole range of children's ages from babies to adolescents. There are also sections focusing on step-parents, single parents, gay and lesbian parents, parents of twins and grandparents.
We like the common sense approach in this book ; the author is based in Gosford in Australia and has many years of experience and wisdom based on his experience as a parent, and on many years consulting at his clinic and receiving feedback from parents.
One of the features of the book is a description of his positive discipline system that uses visual cues and is described as especially effective for primary school-aged children (and we think kids under 10 in particular). Dr Irvine also describes how to use verbal agreements and consequences with teenagers. If you are looking for a system to encourage good behaviour in your children, we think this one is worth a try! Let us know what you think and add a review below...
Highlights/Quotes
"Children will fight, but if we treat them equally, have no favourites, reward cooperation (even with joint charts) and have clear rules on fighting, they will probably survive and even grow to like each other."
There is also a wise section on teenagers and their back answering - here's a short extract: "As mentioned, a respectful message alone will get rid of 50 percent of back-answering. By using choices rather than orders you'll get a further 20 percent hit rate, and by using the last two steps....you'll get rid of an additional 20 percent - 90 percent in all!"
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