Your Six-Year-Old: Loving and Defiant

I bought many books in this series when my son was little-- usually when his behavior was baffling me (and usually every other year). The author explained that children go in and out of feeling balanced as they grow (that's how I understood it). When they felt out of balance, they might seem crabby and tearful. The books were great helps when I was trying to figure out why my sunny little guy was suddenly in years every day... Read Full Review

I have read all of this series of books beginning with Your Two-Year-Old: Terrible or Tender by Louise Bates Ames and Frances L. Ilg. (The books start with the one-year-old.) Their insight into the characteristics, behavior, and development of children is awesome. It seems sometimes that my daughter changes overnight from a loving, caring child into a "monster." I then go back and re-read and find comfort as she goes through... Read Full Review

I found a few Gesell books in my MILs storage shed when my now [..]daughter was about three. I thought they were hilariously outdated, but read them anyway. However, they were DEAD on accurate about where she was developmentally and where she was going to be. Consistently, I found myself coming back to "You're Three Year Old" and "Your Four Year Old" and then finding and buying the other books as they went along. Yes, much... Read Full Review

I am now buying these books for friends who have kids this age. When my kids were small and would behave in a way I couldn't understand or find frustrating, I would open the age-appropriate book and --bang--there it was every time, detailing the behavior and explaining how it fit into the child's development. I read a lot of child development books but I thought these were by far the most realistic and helpful because they... Read Full Review

I must say that this book is very accurate with respect to a 6 year old's behavior... In fact, there were many times when I laughed out of relief when I realized that the little one's behavior is "normal" for a six year old. This book was recommended to me by a clinical psychologist friend.