Amanda's Book Nook: More Elizabeth Pantley Books: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution and The No-Cry Discipline Solution

Volume 16: More Elizabeth Pantley Books: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution and The No-Cry Discipline Solution

Pantley's book, The No-Cry Discipline Solution, won the 2007 iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Book! I definitely understand why. This well written book offers parents a variety of tried and tested discipline techniques that help meet your long term parenting goals. Pantley emphasizes that we, as parents, must think long term rather than short term when making parenting and discipline decisions. She offers techniques for staying calm (the parent) and avoiding anger--a key step to effective discipline along with an anger control plan.

The No-Cry Discipline Solution discusses solutions to every day problems that parents encounter with their children. Pantley addresses tantrums, fussing and whining and offers suggestions for the cause of the real problem at hand (is the child hungry, frustrated, bored, overstimulated, scared, feeling powerless or confused). She then helps parents find solutions for tackling the outbursts that result from the original problem.

This book is guaranteed to help parents feel more in control of difficult situations and in turn create happier parents, children and families!

The No-Cry Potty Training Solution is an easy read for parents who are trying to or are about to try potty training their child. The beginning of the book has a "Quick Guide" (11 pages) that addresses the hot topics of potty training. This guide is useful for parents who do not have the time to invest in reading an entire book. It also provides some quick pointers to

get your started in the right direction.

The book also includes a Readiness Quiz to assist parents in understanding when the best time is to begin potty training, as this is key to the success of the adventure!

Pantley addresses everything from you need to be ready to a variety of techniques and ideas to help training go smoothly. There is an entire chapter dedicated to FAQ's regarding common problems such as bed wetting, fears revolving around using the potty and daycare and potty training (a common challenge).

Pantley's suggestions offer ways to gently encourage, not force training in order to be successful and accomplish your goal as soon as possible.

Amanda's Book Nook: Book Review:Journey to the Darkside: Supermom Goes Home by Kathy Buckworth

Volume 14: Book Review:Journey to the Darkside: Supermom Goes Home by Kathy Buckworth

Kathy Buckworth’s book, Journey to the Darkside, is a well written, entertaining book. The book shares the journey of a “Supermom” (working mother) who becomes a “stay at home Mom” (SAHM) in a very bold, up front, humorous and at times, sarcastic manner. This book is the third of the “Supermom” series, the other two being, “The Secret Life of SuperMom” and “SuperMom:

A Celebration of All You Can Do”.

The book brings humour into everyday family life and helps us Moms feel that our lives are “normal”, whatever “normal” can be in a life with young kids. Buckworth’s writing allows us all to see the lighter side of our everyday struggles and routines.

As Laural writes on her blog, “She (Kathy) takes an incredibly humourous look at what it’s truly like to stay at home with kids. She is somehow able to describe the boredom and busy-ness at the same time. Her descriptions of the various types of moms out there was hilarious.

By the time I finished reading the book there were two things that happened. First, I truly understood my sister’s life a little better (she stays at home). I sometimes wish I was doing what she was, but this book reminded me, in an incredibly funny way, that it’s not as easy as she makes it look. Second, I was really glad to go to work. I’ve been reading this book on the train, and the further I got into, the more I realized I was quite happy to hang on to my title of Supermom just a little longer.”

Kathy posts her upcoming appearances, interviews and articles on her website. It is well worth a visit.

Amanda's Book Nook: Book Review: The Safe Baby by Debra Smiley Holtzman

Volume 13:Book Review: The Safe Baby by Debra Smiley Holtzman

Debra Smiley Holtzman, the author of The Safe Baby, is an internationally acclaimed safety and health expert, a parenting columnist, a Radio & TV personality

and a best-selling author.

The Safe Baby is a well written "Do it Yourself Guide" to home safety. We all strive to be good parents to our children. Keeping them safe is definitely one of the more challenging jobs as a parent. Our homes are filled with hazards to our children and it is often difficult and overwhelming, as a new parent, to think of all of the potential hazardous areas. Debra Smiley Holtzman breaks down the different key areas in your house that should be addressed. In her book, she talks about the various risks as well as potential ways to protect our children from these risks.

Holtzman provides the readers with checklists as well as lists of various hazards to avoid. She addresses a variety of safety topics such as health, food, pets, household items and preparing for emergencies.

This book is a good start for parents who are overwhelmed by the prospect of childproofing their house and keeping their baby or child safe. By reading this book, you will be sure to remember all of the key areas that could pose a potential risk to your child.

Amanda's Book Nook: Book Review: The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

Book Review: The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley writes an incredible series of parenting books on topics including sleep, potty training and discipline. Her book entitled, The No-Cry Sleep Solution is a helpful book for parents who have a baby who has sleep problems. Whether baby won't go to bed on their own, they don't sleep through the night or nap time is a struggle, this book is for you.

The book addresses two different age groups; birth to four monthsand four months to two years. There are chapters dedicated tohelping you devise a plan that works for your family and how to create sleep logs to track your success. Most importantly, Pantley believes that good sleeping habits can be formed without tears (yours or your baby's!). Pantley's Ten Steps to Helping your Baby Sleep All Night provides the reader with many suggestions and tips to pick and choose from. The second part of the book talks about the parent and how to address their specific needs as well.

Like The No-Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers and preschoolers, The No-Cry Sleep Solution is definitely a book worth reading. It is well written, is an easy read and will most likely assist any family experiencing bedtime issues.

Amanda's Book Nook: Book Review: The No-Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers and preschoolers

Book Review: The No-Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers and preschoolers by Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth Pantley writes an incredible series of parenting books topics including sleep, potty training and discipline.

Her book entitled, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers andpreschoolers, is a must read for parents who have either:

• a toddler/preschooler who has never been a good
  

sleeper and are looking for practical solutions for helping

this situation

OR

• a toddler/preschooler who is having difficulty transitioning to
  

new sleep situation (e.g.new bedroom) or have begun to have sleep problems

Pantley’s book provides very specific suggestions for how to analyze your personal situation as well as a variety of steps/suggestions that you can try to improve your sleep situation with your toddler. Her practical and supportive text allows parents to take the information that sounds helpful and leave the tips that will not work for their family. She recognizes that every family as well as every child is unique and will therefore have a unique situation that requires careful thought and implementation of a strategy that will work for them.

In Part Two of her book, she lists eight sleep tips for every child. This section is a wonderful resource for all parents to read. She then writes about solutions for a variety of common sleep problems such as “Bedtime Battles”, “ Nap time problems” and “Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking”.

Throughout her book, Pantley emphasizes the importance of consistency as well as giving each plan a fair try. She provides parents with solutions that are easy to understand and follow.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution for toddlers and preschoolers is definitely a book worth reading. It is well written, is an easy read and will most likely assist any family experiencing bedtime issues.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 10: Environmental Print and Your Child

Volume 10: Environmental Print and Your Child

What is "Environmental Print"? Environmental Print is the first print that children learn. It is the symbols, signs, numbers, and colours in the signs around us. Signs that we see on a daily basis. Signs that we don't have to read, we just know what they stand for or what they say. A few examples would be food labels, store signs, street signs, traffic signs and various logos.

As adults, we don't have to "read" these signs. We look at them as we are driving by. Our eyes catch the colour, shape and symbols and immediately process the message. This is what children need to learn.

Environmental Print typically is a concept that is "taught" or "introduced" in Kindergarten and Grade One. However, having said that, our children are exposed to Environmental Print from a very early age. What can you do as a parent to help your child with their pre-reading skills? Point signs out while walking or driving in your neighbourhood or town. Eventually, they will begin to recognize the signs on their own and be able to "read" them with confidence. Confidence is key to learning how to read. Help your child feel empowered by exposing them to Environmental Print.

Just be careful, because it may come to bite you in the behind ;) My 2 year old daughter can "read" many signs that I wish she never knew (e.g. McDonad's, Tim Hortons, etc.). Knowing how to read these signs can be cause for terrible two tantrums!

This month, I plan on making my daughter an Environmental Print book. I will sit down with her and read the flyers and ask her to point to the stores that she knows. We will cut the pictures of those words together and then glue them into a homemade book that she can read. Children have so much fun reading these books. The books are theirs. They belong to them and are made especially for them.

You can also use Google Image Search to find images for a sign, company or product.

To learn more about Environment Print and your child, please visit:

• Hubbards Cupboard
  

Mrs. Perdue's Kindergarten

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 9: Book Review on Parenting The Long Journey by Joe Rich

Volume 9: Book Review on Parenting The Long Journey by Joe Rich

My Mom bought me this book right after she saw Joe Rich on City Line, her favourite show! She thought that Joe Rich had some good advice for parents and that I would enjoy reading his book. She certainly was right!

Joe Rich takes you on a journey throughout parenthood to show you what happens when take his advice and when you don't. He makes you think about your philosophy on parenting and where you would like to see yourself as a parent, where you see your children and where you see your family down the road.

Ironically, what I liked best about this book is also what frustrated me as I read! I liked the fact that his philosophy when writing this book was to help parents with LONG TERM parenting, not just the "here and now" problems that parents often face. The difficult part for me was that I was craving more specific

examples.

Having said that, regardless of the fact that I found there to be a lack of specific examples, I found this book to be an excellent read. It helped me to think about my long term goals for me as a parent and for my family.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 8: Homemade ABC Books

Volume 8: Homemade ABC Books

What better way to help your child learn their "ABC's" than to make them (or better yet, create with them) their very own ABC book?

For my daughter's 2nd birthday, I made her an ABC book especially personalized with items that are important to her. she had the book memorized after the second time reading through it because the items were so familiar. This book continues to be in her top book picks on a daily basis.

Here's how I did it (there are many different variation--the sky is the limit):

I bought a 4x6 photo album from the good old dollar store.

I glanced through our digital photos and picked out photos that I knew would be appropriate for each letter. For the letters where there wasn't a photo, I chose and object that she would recognize from our home and took an individual photo of it.

I bought foam capital letter stickers from the dollar store.

I cut out 4x6 pieces of cardstock and made the book.

A is for ....

B is for....

etc.

I typed out the "is for...".

After assembling the book, I wrote my daughter a special message at the back and wrapped it up for her birthday.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 7: Number Books

Volume 7: Number Books

Books with numbers teach children many concepts; number sense, one to one correspondence (pointing to objects and counting each individual one), number recognition and often rhyme.

One book that my daughter and I have been having fun with lately is Five Silly Monkeys by Steven Haskamp. This book is a take on the action rhyme “Five Little Monkeys” that we all know from our childhood. The other day, I was reading this book to my toddler and quickly became aware that she has this book memorized. I decided to “throw her off a bit” and change the words up. Instead of the monkeys bumping their heads, all of a sudden they were bumping different parts of their bodies. Well, didn’t my daughter think that I was funniest Mommy ever? She kept asking for more and more and more and has ever since that day. The reason why I have shared this anecdote is to encourage you to explore and have fun with text.

We also came across a fabulous interactive website for preschoolers! There are games and interactive online stories, all age appropriate for toddlers (I have found activities that really and truly are age appropriate hard to find for my daughter).

Please feel free to visit Story Place Preschool Library for rainy day computer activities for you and your child to do together. The one activity that we found, involving numbers (similar set up as Five Silly Monkeys) was Five Hungry Crocodiles. This would be an excellent follow up activity for reading any number book.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 6 : Book Review for Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman

Volume 6 : Book Review for Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman

This relatively short (239 pages) paperback book is a must read for all parents! It is a well written book with many ‘real-life’ examples in order to help parents relate to the text.

You have heard of “intelligence” before, but have you heard of “emotional intelligence?” One line that hit home for me was, “…love by itself wasn’t enough”. Many parents believe that if they care for and love their child that they will grow up in a manner that they believe is successful. This book addresses the fact that in order for this to happen, a child must learn how to come to terms with their emotions and learn how to direct their emotional energy into solving problems effectively. This book deals with how to deal with your child when emotions are at the fore front, both the child’s and adult’s emotions.

What counts are the words that we use during emotional times. Changing our wording ever so slightly can be all it takes to make a child feel respected, validated and acknowledged and provide them with the confidence that is needed in order to face the world.

Gottman talks about a term called, “Emotional Coaching” which involves 5 key steps (Chapter 3):

1) Being aware of the child’s emotions

2) Recognizing the emotion as an opportunity for intimacy and teaching

3) Listening empathetically and validating the child’s feelings

4) Helping the child verbally label emotions

5) Setting limits while helping the child problem solve

After reading this chapter numerous times, I now feel like I understand what it truly means to be empathetic to my child and to help her work through her emotions productively.

I highly recommend this book to every parent. I truly believe that after reading this book, all parents will feel empowered and equipped with the knowledge to assist their children through their emotions in a productive manner.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 5: Respect for Books

Volume 5: Respect for Books

One of the first “rules of the house” that my daughter learned (at a very young age, I might add) is that we respect books! The primary form of this rule was that we do not put books in our mouth. I know that babies like to put just about anything in their mouths, but why do they like to eat books so much? It is paper, folks, it cannot taste that good, nor does it feel anywhere near as good as a toy! But, for some strange reason, babies like to mouth books.

As a Kindergarten teacher, this was one of my pet peeves, a lack of respect for books. Believe it or not, there were children, even at the age of four, five and six, that were “eating” books accompanied with ripping books, writing in books and throwing books. It is our job as parents, our child’s first teacher, to teach them how to treat a book.

Because of my strong beliefs, and the number of books that I had to repair in my classroom, I consistently enforced the “We don’t eat books, we read books” rule with my daughter until it stuck. It didn’t take too long either, I suppose because she was constantly trying and I consistently followed up with the same phrase.

Here are some more “rules” that we can teach our children about books:

1)We read books, we don’t eat them.

2)We turn pages carefully.

3)We always have clean hands when reading a book.

4)We close a book when we are finished reading it.

5)We put a book back where it belongs when we are finished reading it.

Books are expensive and they are important and we should try to teach our children how to respect them.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 1: Volume 4 – Alphabet Books

Volume 4 – Alphabet Books

Alphabet books, (we like to call them ABC books in our house) are a wonderful addition to a child’s personal library. Not only do they allow your child to learn more vocabulary with picture representation, but they also provide them with an early introduction to the letters of the alphabet and subsequently, early reading skills. Often ABC books have a lot of rhythm and rhyme, which as I have mentioned earlier are two very important characteristics of good early children’s literature. I like to make up songs to ABC books (you can use familiar tunes if you have difficulty making your own tune), children tend to love music and this is a simple way to help them learn their alphabet.

To read this month's Amanda's Book Nook, please visit our Homepage at York Region Parent.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 3: Rhythm and Rhyme

Volume 3: Rhythm and Rhyme

Rhythm and rhyme are two very important characteristics of a good children’s book. One author who consistently demonstrates these two qualities in all of her books is Sandra Boynton.

My daughter’s favourite Boynton book is:Moo Baa La La La.

My daughter is 20 months old and can recite this entire book by memory. She understands the humour and really gets into the groove of the rhythm of the story. The metre of the story is such that you can almost make a little kid rap while you read. This helps children develop an understanding of metre in language, e.g. the flow.

Sandra Boynton has also come out with a new book, entitled, Your Personal Penguin. We do not own this book, *yet*, but after looking at it in the bookstore, while my little one wandered around (in eye sight of course), it looks just as good as her other ones.

If you are looking for great book ideas for a gift this holiday season, consider these books. They are a great read and will become favourites for children as young as 9 months up to 5 years.

To read this month's Amanda's Book Nook, please visit our Homepage at York Region Parent.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 2: Goodnight Moon

Volume 2: Goodnight Moon

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is definitely an old favourite! This book, often purchased in board book format, is an excellent first book for infants. Goodnight Moon is a wonderful bedtime story. By the end of the book, your child will be calmed and ready for bed. The illustrations are simple and the story is short and sweet.

To read this month's Amanda's Book Nook, please visit our Homepage at York Region Parent.

Amanda's Book Nook: Volume 1: Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

Volume 1: Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

One of my all time favourite stories for young children is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.

I started reading this book to my daughter when she was an infant and it has now become one of her favourite stories too. This book focuses on repetition and rhyme. The text flows beautifully and the illustrations, by Eric Carle, are gorgeous. Children can learn about colours and animals in this book.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? is appropriate for infants, through to grade one or two. It is a good book to read to your young children and a great book for early readers due to rhyme and repetition.

If you are interested in doing some activities after reading this book, go here. This website has colouring pages, crafts and more.

To read this month's Amanda's Book Nook, please visit our Homepage at York Region Parent.

Mommy Lit Review: By The Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation by Frances Greenslade

By The Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation by Frances Greenslade

"Becoming a mother brings you close to the bone, to blood, and shit, to mortality and your absolute worst fears. It may be sweet, but it can also be dark and dangerous. It is, more accurately, one of the great adventures of many women's lives. It is a quest, with the mother as hero-adventurer, encountering the pitfalls of all adventures: monsters, despair and an overarching wonder."

Review #1 - The book starts off in a very emotional and dramatic fashion with the author taking us through her own experience when she developed a life-threatening complication shortly after her son was born. An emergency hysterectomy was performed which then prevented her from having any more children.

Frances Greenslade then takes us through her experience of childbirth, her surgery and life with a new baby; the challenges she faced and the emotions she went through. She also uses her knowledge of literature (she has a Master's degree) to intertwine her personal story with pieces of myth and history.

In the end, after reading about her birthing experience, I felt very lucky and blessed with mine. I could definitely relate to her intense feelings towards her newborn baby. You feel such an overwhelming amount of love for your children that it is hard to put into words sometimes, but Greenslade captures the emotions perfectly.

Review #2 - I started reading The Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation by Frances Greenslade 3 weeks after giving birth to my daughter and was blown away by the emotions of the Greenslade's story. Her harrowing recovery from a childbirth after a life saving hysterectomy made me stop reading - just for a day or so. It's an emotionally charged few pages when she realizes that her son will be her only child and that she is lucky to be alive after her ordeal.

The Secret Ladders weaves myth and Greenslade's vast knowledge of literature about motherhood into her account of her child's first year. Greenslade isn't afraid of the dark emotions and sides of motherhood. As well,.her experience does point to problems within the Canadian medical field in obstetrics. I had a few moments, when I felt like it was me writing the book, and holding my hand up and saying, "me too!".

Mommy Lit Review: The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

Review by Tricia

This book is written by Fiona Neill, who writes a column in the London Times newspaper called "Slummy Mummy". Her column was so popular that she turned some of the material into a novel. Her book centres on Lucy, a mother of three boys. She is married to Tom (Husband with a Short Fuse) and gave up a successful journalism career working for Newsnight, to bring up her children. They lead a fairly middle-class existence.

Fiona Neill really captures what it's like for a mother who is just going through the daily routine of making meals, school runs, school meetings and trying to keep up with all of the cleaning. Lucy begins to get bored with things and starts looking for something, or someone (Sexy Domesticated Dad), to liven up the domesticity.

I found this book a little bit hard to get into at first, however, once you read through the first couple of chapters you are hooked. The main character Lucy is a little bit wacky but very likable. The book focuses very much on adult relationships. It is interesting to read about the dynamics between her and her single/non-married friends (as we've all been there as the relationships change once someone gets married and has kids). It also details Lucy's relationship with her husband, other parents from her children's school and her relationship with her own parents and mother-in-law. While you often find yourself relating to these relationships, the story line can be a bit far-fetched at times yet entertaining all the same.

The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

Mommy Lit Review: Momzillas by Jill Kargman

Momzillas by Jill Kargman
Review by Tricia

When Hannah Allen's husband takes a job in New York City, his hometown, they uproot themselves and their two year old daughter to move across the country. When she gets there, Hannah is not prepared for the extremely competitive world she falls in to. In the upper echelons of Manhattan society, moms are obsessed with having everything perfect for their children and are constantly competing for the best pre-schools, clothes, birthday parties and extracurricular activities. She also experiences problems with her mother-in-law who feels that Hannah is not doing all she can to integrate her granddaughter into their new environment. Despite her better instincts and common sense, Hannah soon finds herself caught up in the craziness of high-stakes mothering.

This book is a fun and fast read that will definitely get you laughing. There are a lot of abbreviations and lingo used in the book that I have never heard of, but the definitions are quite cute. I could relate to the main character in the demands she felt by competitive mothering, although not to the same extent. I think all moms feel the pressure to ensure your child has the best of everything and you do your best to provide for their future development.

To read this month's Mommy Lit Review, please visit our Homepage at York Region Parent.