Which toddler parenting book is best?

anon

Mon, Dec 08 2008, 12:58 pm

I'm looking for a toddler parenting book that teaches techniques on how to let my child know who's boss while ALSO being kind and respectful of his feelings.

I'm NOT looking for a book that simply describes the toddler years (like What to Expect)

Thanks!

RachelEve14

Mon, Dec 08 2008, 11:02 pm

I actually have both books. 1-2-3 Magic is like a quick fix band-aid. When we were having hitting issues, it was great. But he recommends the same thing for every issue. A lot of what the author says does make sense (ie: kids don't want to hear long lectures), but honestly I don't think I really *needed* a whole book to tell me that. Can you access a library? I would get 1-2-3 out of the library and see what you think, it's a very quick read.

Happiest Toddler is more all encompasing. HE gives pretty thourough descriptions of what each age is like. He gives a lot of techniques to work with the kids. I didn't really use the toddlerease voice he says to, but I used the emotions and the easy short phrases and I felt it did help to turn the kids around. Also happiest toddler is more gentle in nature. 1/2/3 is more for "this behavior must stop NOW I don't really care how. Happiest Toddler gets more into explaining how to guide, how to stop behavior, and how to empathise. If you were looking at How to Talk first, Happiest Toddler is more in line with those theories. I would say you are looking more for Happiest Toddler because he has a lot of things in there about how to understand & control your kids, rather than just 1/2/3.