Thinking Parent, Thinking Child - Hardcover

You've tried everything you can think of, but nothing you do seems to have any effect on your child's chronic procrastinating. The school called again to complain that your daughter is still bullying the other kids in her class, and you don't know how to make her stop without becoming a bully yourself. Your son explodes in anger if he loses at anything--­­sports or even fun family games. And your kids constantly argue with each other and with you. If you're looking for a different way to handle problems like these, this book is for you. Written by internationally acclaimed parenting author Dr. Myrna Shure, Thinking Parent, Thinking Child arms you with powerful techniques for dealing with these and dozens of other issues confronting today's parents.

In her national bestseller Raising a Thinking Child, Dr. Shure introduced parents to her original "I Can Problem Solve" approach to teaching children the critical thinking skills they need to solve problems on their own. Now, in Thinking Parent, Thinking Child, she shows how to apply "I Can Problem Solve" techniques to the top concerns of parents and children from preschoolers through those in their preteen years. Not only will children learn to think about their own and others' feelings, they'll also learn to appreciate that you have feelings, too. You'll see how weighing your options before responding to your children will inspire them to weigh their options. As you reflect on your own behavior toward your children, you may wonder, "Is time-out really useful?" or "Will spanking help or hurt?" And just as you want your child to listen to you, you'll find yourself asking, "Am I really listening to him?"

The important lessons presented in this book go far beyond how to manage or control specific problems. Instead, you'll be able to help your child find her own best solutions to problems--ranging from getting her homework done to test anxiety to teasing to being teased to peer pressure.

Thinking Parent, Thinking Child gives you tools to help your kids become less aggressive, inhibited, and fearful, and more cooperative, empathic, and better able to handle life's frustrations and disappointments.

Advance Praise for Thinking Parent, Thinking Child

"Myrna Shure's approach stresses the necessity of having both child and parent learn to think through effective strategies for handling common problems. This balanced perspective will find a solid endorsement from today's guilt-laden parents who hear all too often that the responsibility for harmonious family functioning lies totally with them. Thinking Parent, Thinking Child reminds them from the title forward that thinking and learning must occur on both sides of the generation fence.”
--Bettye Caldwell, Ph.D., past president of the National Association for the Education of Young Children

“Unlike the advice of so many 'parenting experts,' the effectiveness of Dr. Shure’s work has been scientifically validated. If you want to truly prepare your child to become a happy, successful, functional adult, this book is a must.”
--Sam Goldstein, Ph.D., coauthor of Raising Resilient Children

“Dr. Shure empowers parents to boost their children's emotional thinking skills. Her real-life vignettes reveal that children can learn how to create solutions for their problems.”
--Alice S. Honig, Ph.D., professor emerita of child development at Syracuse University

"Myrna Shure applies her unique and proven problem-solving approach to a wide range of challenges and helps parents think through sensible and usable solutions. A must-read for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who spends time with kids."
--Susan Ginsberg, Ed.D., editor and publisher of Work & Family Life newsletter

"Based on many years of research and development, the book carries on the tradition of Benjamin Spock as a resource for giving self-confidence to parents and support to their children. Most important, the book is a resource for helping to build lifelong skills for listening and being empathic, being resourceful, and building family ties."
--James G. Kelly, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Myrna B. Shure, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She is the author of two award-winning parenting books and the creator of nationally recognized conflict resolution and violence prevention programs for schools. Her work is often covered in national parenting magazines, and she has appeared on several national radio and television programs.