Mom, I Hate You!: Children's Provocative Communication: What It Means and What to Do about It

My copy of "Mom, I hate You!" is dog-eared and underlined, the cover limp from being shoved into my purse on the way to My Gym and carpool. Even if your child does not communicate in a provocative way, I guarantee you there will be much to glean from this insightful, intelligent, highly readable book. Dr. Fleming is brilliant, and in an immensely enjoyable and helpful manner, he lays out a simple guide to enhance communcation between parents and children. I have read many books on child-rearing, but this book is the best. It's fun and fast to read, and the suggestions are laid out in a simple, easy to comprehend (and, most importantly, easy to remember fashion.) Best of all, at the end of each chapter, Dr. Fleming provides a summary to remind you of the main steps you need to take to increase effective communication. This guide alone is worth the price of the book because if you're an impossibly busy parent who falls into bed at night as I do you just don't have TIME to read all the helpful parenting books out there(wonderful as many of them may be). I have learned so much from this book but what has helped me the most is the chapter on your child's style and temperament. Dr. Fleming outlines several basic styles and you will be amazed to find how accurately your child will fit into one (or a few) of them. In one day, I found myself responding to each of my children with far more empathy and found our conflicts reduced by a huge percent! Equally important, Dr. Fleming outlines parents' basic styles and temperaments and suggests that we as parents examine our ownpersonalities to better understand how we interact--in positive and negative ways--with our children. He does all this simply, though, and manages also to assuage your guilt as a parent for the times you do and say things wrong (as we all do), the times you make mistakes and fly off the handle, etc. This book truly is a gem! Read it, and you will feel empowered about how you interact with your children each and every day.

Dr. Fleming's book, "Mom,I Hate You" is a practical, easily understandable guide to dealing with your child's words and behaviors. I would highly recommend this book to my clients and friends.