publication date: Nov 26, 2007
Sacha Baveystock makes a welcoming start to this book by
recounting how, having felt smug viewing someone else’s
squabbling children, she found herself grimly in a very
similar position some years later.
This friendly and human
approach is continued throughout
They started it! How to help your kids get on, which makes it a highly
enjoyable read. There are also many
laugh-out-loud anecdotes.
Sacha makes it clear that, although she has
considerable experience making
parenting programmes, she does not regard herself to be a
parenting expert, and instead
quotes from a number of
references.
She frequently
refers to her own and others’
experiences, both of being a
parent and of being a
sibling. These tales are
interesting and illuminating, and send the
reassuring message that mine is not the only
family where arguments,
squabbling and petty niggling can be the
order of the
day!
But while
They started it! How to help your kids get on is a very enjoyable read, much of the
advice is very
useful. Some of it I have
encountered before (and of course
forgotten), other parts were
new to me, for example how to
deal with constant
questioning of who is the
favourite, and how to
deal with reports of
hitting, kicking, etc which I haven’t actually
witnessed.
The only
downside with this type of
book is that, once you’ve
finished reading it, it’s hard to
remember to put the
advice into
practice amidst the daily
chaos. I would need to
re-read some of the
chapters which particularly
chimed with me in order to get the
most benefit from this book.
My only other
criticism of
They started it! How to help your kids get on is that in the
final few pages it
descends into a rather syrupy “things aren’t so bad” style, but I
guess this is just an attempt to end on an
upbeat note.
Overall I found this to be a
thoroughly entertaining and very
helpful book.
In a sea of
confusing and misguided
parenting books, it is
great to read one that gives such
clear and
sound advice, and in a highly
palatable fashion.
They started it! How to help your kids get on, published by
Prentice Hall Life, is available from
Amazon, to order a copy
click the link below:
They Started It!: How to Help Your Children Get on
