Welcome to Parenting 2.0 Optimization, the Life Skills Library
Children: The Challenge : The Classic Work on Improving Parent-Child Relations--Intelligent, Humane & Eminently Practical (Plume) by Rudolf Dreikurs, M.D.
This divine book reaffirmed me as "Parent" when my first daughter fought me fiercely for the role at age three. The natural consequences Dreikurs advocates can be tough to deliver but boy do they work. No other book ever matched this one for me in providing simple to follow directions that literally transformed my parenting. Easily ranks as the #1 parenting book on my Mama Marlaine's Must Read List.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
Rarely do you get to read your parenting book and be entertained by it too - but with this one you most assuredly do. Faber and Mazlish brilliantly expose our worst methods of communicating through actual sample conversations (you'll find your style I promise - and your spouse's!) They then provide easy suggestions for improvement. Keep this one on your shelf of easy reach favorites because your ever growing children will assure you want to re-visit it every two years, if not more.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Cheezy title, I know. I didn't read this book for years because of it. So happy I got over myself as it ranks as my number one must read book for any individual. While I would personally have titled it something like "Golden Rule Hits the Streets," the fact is this text has managed to remain a best seller for seven decades - yes decades - for a reason. Disliking the title or even the content doesn't make Carnegie's points any less true. Read it, practice it, benefit from its wisdom or forever suffer the trials of insanity.
The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships By Harriet Goldhor Lerner
When you are a family of three it is tempting to think there are just three relationships functioning, NOT! There are easily nine and if you add in extended family, in laws, ex spouses etc., you have the cast for a full season of CBS soaps! Male or female, this book will help you appreciate the larger dynamics at play in relationships and instruct you how to steer clear of brick walls. Prepare to love it!
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex by John Gray
A little information can take you a long way and relationships were given a luxury jet with this gift from John Gray. Utilizing humor and fictional characters to expose underlying assumptions and expectations of everyday conversations, John Gray delivers entertainment and enlightenment. In the process, he increases our compassion for ourselves, our spouses, and all people. Regardless the age of your relationship, buy this today!!!
If your teen has you wondering what happened to the sweet, respectful, child you once knew, treat yourself to Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages of Teenagers. Be prepared, however, reading Gary is like tasting Lay's potatoe chips - he will definitely leave you wanting more. Good news is, his Languages of Love series comes in a variety of flavors. Enjoy!!!
Have a great book related to one of the LIFE SKILLS Topics you want to recommend? Email us at Parenting2pt0@gmail.com.