Reviews for Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsiblity - Foster W. Cline - Audio - F...

The average rating for Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsiblity - Foster W. Cline - Audio - F... based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-03-06 00:00:00 Trinh Dang I bought this book, as well as 4 other parenting books, so that I could compare a bunch of different theories and techniques and decide what spoke to me. I found it interesting and there was plenty that was useful, however there was a lot that I didn't agree with. I think that there are a lot of responses to children that they call "Logical consequences" that I call punishment all dressed up in disguise. I don't know how this couldn't come across as inauthentic to children and get more annoying to them as they get older. I was disturbed by the idea of the option that if children aren't behaving than maybe they are "choosing" to be shut in their rooms with a towel between the door and the door jam to keep the door essentially locked shut. This would be very traumatic for my toddler and it isn't at all the message that I want to send. I also don't think that I could send my child to daycare or school without clothes or outside on a cold day without a coat if they weren't ready on time, etc. However, I am sure there will come a time when using such a method will be useful. When I was in HS, I had to pay for a cab to school when I missed the school bus. That was a reasonable and effective logical consequence. I recommend "Positive Discipline", which incorporates logical consequences, but they aren't just punishments in disguise, and it seems to me to be a much more compassionate way to parent.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-07-12 00:00:00 James Maddox This book advocates parenting methods that, if followed, could in some cases amount to child abuse/neglect. For example, the book suggests that if a two-year-old doesn't behave appropriately at dinner, the parents should deny him food until morning. The authors also suggest that if a 6-month-old throws his bottle, the parents should withhold it until the next meal! At least one thing advocated by the authors is actually illegal. They assert that it is the child's problem (not the parents' problem) if the child flunks because of constantly arriving late to school. Making sure that the kids get to school actually is the parents' legal responsibility; they can be prosecuted when the kids don't go. The authors allege that they intend to respect kids by giving them choices, but the choices suggested in this book and the sample dialogues between parents and children sound contrived and demeaning, never respectful. The suggested dialogues with toddlers are just ridiculous --- these people must not have spent much time with their own kids when they were toddlers or they would know that no toddler would understand the speeches that they suggest. Finally, the tone of this book is that parents must be at constant war with their children, always thinking about how to outsmart them, which I think is a terrible approach to parenting.