WHO'S IN CONTROL?: Dr. Baiter's Guide to Discipline Without Combat

by Lawrence with Anita Shreve Balter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 1987

Fine-tuning of discipline problems faced by parents of children up to 13 years of age. Although Baiter (the CBS Radio child-rearing advisor and author of Dr. Baiter's Child Sense) tips in suggestions on how to ease a toddler into a group-care center, his advice is more applicable to families in which one parent is pretty much always on tap--at least in the preschool years. And wise advice it is, geared to the five developmental stages of preteen children. In the first 18 months, he says, infants cannot be expected to exhibit self-control, nor can they be ""spoiled"" by too much attention. ""Discipline"" boils down to protecting them from harm, and socializing them through conversation, swift attention to their needs, good humor and parental self-restraint. Much the same obtains with toddlers--they need clever distractions from inappropriate behavior, and an occasional ""very mild"" disciplinary lesson: e.g., taking away blocks being hurled about the room. From three to six, kids begin to conform to routines and understand rules. They can also be negotiated with; and Balter has some nifty ideas for handling aggressive, compulsive, bossy behavior. His advice--equally useful in the sections on grade-school and preteen years--is geared to the development of self-control in children, without recourse to physical punishments, verbal put-downs, or parental tirades. In sum: a useful, readable, well-organized child-rearing guide in the Bruno Bettelheim/Penelope Leach tradition.

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Poseiden/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION