Excellent tips!

This book offers excellent tips on dealing with defiant kids of all ages! Some techniques I previously thought were "too tough" to use were validated as useful. It was also an eye opener on how my own behavior when dealing with my defiant 6yr old daughter was preventing positive changes in her.

9 people found this helpful

Perfect intro for parents of children w/ O.D.D.

As a parent of a 6 year old child battling O.D.D., including professional therapy sessions, the first 4 days of using the knowledge in this book to educate my family and to help my child better control their situations & surroundings, these first 4 days have been the most productive for my 6 year old in two years.

This book is a blessing!!!

7 people found this helpful

Out dated & stuck in place

I was so hopeful for this book. I needed help to understand my sons struggles and possible strengths but this just delivered derivatives that were more common sense and also deeply flawed in resources to actually help make a difference

I wouldn’t recommend this for any parent of a child going through this time. It doesn’t help it only gives examples of the children the author had treated it was more like listening to him proclaim how great he was rather then answer questions and provide possibilities about effective solutions.
It is also stuck in a very 1940s kind of vibe about assuming all kids have a mother & father rather then addressing challenges for single parents. I also very much resented the whole “of your divorced have a wholesome divorce “ what if the divorce is needed because the other parent is one of the primary causes of the ODD
I also was expecting more of how trauma is connected rather then two sentences. I was hoping to hear effects and cause to gain knowledge and help inspire ways to heal.

I wish I had never wasted time with this book

10 people found this helpful

Worth listening. Some Clear differences from other experts

I am a physican, parent of And ODD/ADHD son age 9. He endorses a more tough love kind of approach then other experts in this area. Some examples that come to mind would be Ross Greene, Kazdin and others. Some conflicting recommendations relative to them as well. Nonetheless, some great points, stories and ideas. Well worth the listen.

4 people found this helpful

Good book...

I was a offended when the author described the middle class ODD children as if they were better than the "less than privileged" inner city children. I couldn't help but notice the elitist, racial undertones, especially when he referenced rap music and the city children's assumed lack of structure. I believe it was Chapter 4. I thought it to be ironic to hear such judgement, yet the book was about ODD children. I never thought ODD was a white, middle class, suburbian condition. While that chapter was tough to get through for me, the rest of the book was informative.

7 people found this helpful

Dangerous Advice

Following these recommendations is sure to further isolate your child and forever damage your relationship. I highly recommend The Explosive Child as an alternative.

5 people found this helpful

Nice to hear more about how to cope with this!

I had so many ah-ha moments, and felt both familiar with a lot of the situations discussed in this book, but also validated as a parent for the emotions and feelings that we deal with when trying to parent a child with Oppositional Defiance. I may not have agreed with everything 100%, but it does give you a really good idea of the extremes and variances of this condition from one child to the next. But the underlying core of issues were undeniable.

1 person found this helpful

Eye opener! No longer an enabler!

Not only is the content spot on in understanding the defiant child, the examples of banter of a defiant childs behaviors was so helpful! The tools and recommendations in this book are exstreamly valuable to as I move forward in learning the strength to take back my parental right from my child, as it should be.

1 person found this helpful

worth the time

Excellent advice, wish it were separated into teen and pre-pubescent. Story lines are from the 80s, but relevant.

Not Trauma-Informed

Full disclosure- I listened to about 3/4 of this book before I stopped. Maybe it gets better. With all the studies in brain development, attachment and trauma that have shed so much light on working with challenging children, I found this book out-dated and disappointing.