Title: Positive Discipline: The First Three Years
Author: Jane Nelson, Cheryl Erwin, and Roslyn Ann Duffy
Publication Year: 2007
Website: www.positivediscipline.com
Amazon Product Page (Affiliate Link)
Review: I was really expecting to fully support this book, as I’m a big proponent of positive discipline. However, I had several issues with this book. 1) It’s pretty dull. 2) I feel like the authors probably had kids under the age of three a long time ago, as many of their scenarios seem like distant memories or stereotypical TV scripts. 3) They support a version of the cry-it-out method for older babies and suggest that co-sleeping can lead to more demanding behavior during the day, an opinion with which I personally disagree. 4) Many of the suggestions seem fairly obvious.
I still support positive discipline techniques above time-outs, yelling, threats, spanking, and other punitive methods. If these are the methods one finds oneself relying on in general, I might consider recommending this book, as I agree with over 90% of the content. However, it just wasn’t that helpful or enjoyable for me. The authors frequently reference the work of Rudolf Dreikurs, and I found his book, Children: The Challenge, to be far more readable and useful.
(Personal Rating: 6/10)
Leave a Reply