Raising Children You Can Live With: A Guide for Frustrated Parents
"As a therapist, I come armed with a very sympathetic ear, a systemic approach to problems, models of family therapy, and a wonderful book to help guide us through the tangle of difficult parent/child interactions that have led, in some cases, to a virtual impasse in family communications. The book is Jamie Raser'sRaising Children You Can Live With: A Guide for Frustrated Parents. The language is clear and concise. The charts and diagrams help explain and clarify the text. There are examples for every guiding point made, and there is a brief summary at the end of each chapter for easy review. Armed with [Jamie Rasers book], both parents and therapists have a useful collaborator in the challenging task of guiding children to adulthood and children gain a helping hand in making themselves heard and understood." --Linda Walsh, PhD"[Jamie Rasers] Strategic Interaction Approach" changes the base of power between parent and child, allowing parents to control situations, not to be in control of their child. For most parents, this is a big change, but an ultimately rewarding one as parents learn to play a personal role in their child's life (providing love, respect, fun friendship) without giving up the business role (discipline, guidance, structure, rules). He offers realistic, convincing examples of Strategic Interaction in action: phrases and positions to be memorized, rehearsed, and applied. There are fifteen "What Do I Do When" (My child lies? My child always blames others? My child is violent? Etc.) scenarios complete with sample dialogue. Concrete, practical guidance worth the price." --Paulette Bochnig Sharkey, Independent Publisher, March 1999"The 160-page paperback is free from the bewildering behavioral terms that are favorites of psychologists and social workers. That makes it easy for the average parent to read, understand and use. It gives real-life examples that will be familiar to most parents and tells how to keep problems from escalating into an us vs. them battlefield. Each chapter shows a right and a wrong way of handling a situation, ending by giving parents something to think about. I like, too, Raser's thought on parenthood: "Parenting is not something you do to a child; it is a relationship you have with a child."Raising Children You Can Live Withis a valuable tool, especially for parents of adolescents." --Jeannine Schaub, Boone News-Republican, September 23, 1999