Parenting by Heart: How to Stay Connected to Your Child in a Disconnected World
Based around a long-standing series of parenting workshops,Parenting  by Heartaims to debunk the most common--and damaging--myths of parenthood  and replace them with a flexible set of solutions that can be easily adapted to  different situations. Author Ron Taffel offers a variety of innovative ideas  that can change frustrating experiences for the better while relieving parents  of much of the guilt we carry.The book is based on short chapters that blow away our standard myths about  "in-charge parents," "over-involved mothers and under-involved fathers," and  consistently reliable methods of discipline. Rather than simply contradicting  them, Taffel explains how these ideas developed and how they can be changed for  the better. He describes the important roles of "Parent Protector," "Parent  Chum," and "Parent Realist" and outlines the different ages that require  different styles of parenting. The book is full of lively examples and basic  concepts, so you'll have plenty of new ideas to replace the tired myths.Whether Taffel is elaborating on the idea that no good discipline method is  effective for more than a few days or reminiscing about bribing his daughter  with cookies, the points raised in his work are refreshing and reassuring. This  is one parenting book that works equally well for teens and toddlers.--Jill  Lightner