Win the Whining War & Other Skirmishes: A Family Peace Plan

My husband and I first became familar with this book when we attened a parenting class at UCLA which Cynthia Whitham taught. It was based on the principles of this book. Our son, four, at the time was diagosed with ADHD. After appling the things we learned from Cynthia in everyday life, our son was re-tested and found not to have ADHD. I believe it's commonly misdiagosed and this book really gives you the tools to handle a child that might just need firm limits and not medication. I belive this book is a must for EVERY parent. I have recommended it and passed it on to various friends for 3 years now. If kids came with an manual this would be it!!

"You may have chosen to be a parent, but you did not choose to give up your mental health in the process. I believe parents have a right to no-fuss mornings, tear-free bedtimes, low stress errand-running and time for themselves." ~Cynthia Whitham Do you want to learn how to stop: whining, tantrums, dawdling, bad language, name calling, teasing, spitting, biting, talking back, interrupting, complaining, sulking and fighting, this is your guide. Cynthia Whitham is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in parent training. She also gives workshops for parents, teachers and therapists. She uses the ideas in this book at home with her own children. Cynthia makes an excellent point about children finding negative ways to get attention. She recommends complimenting the good behavior and seeing if that helps change the situation. "The more positive attention you give, the better things get." This is a very organized book. Not only can you organize the behaviors you love, dislike and want to stop, you can also pick them right off a nice list. I also loved her ideas of "do say and don't say." There are things that will encourage a variety of behaviors you might not want to encourage even when you are being positive. This has to do with sibling rivalry and making a child successful at the expense of others. Being compared to your brothers and sisters just isn't fun. You will also see the value of: Making praise a habit. Making Big Tasks Manageable How to use "Ignore" to the best advantage. Offering choices (oh, this is a good one and it works) Making a better behaviour chart Setting limits Time-Out Battle Plans This book presents practical solutions to everyday problems. This is an excellent resource for parents, grandparents, teachers, babysitters and day care workers. According to Cynthia, "spanking and screaming" are not options you have to engage in. You can really focus on the positive aspects and see amazing results. Highly Recommended! 20 Stars! ~The Rebecca Review

If you really want to cut the whining, the tantrums, the interrupting, the talking back, the dawdling in your home -- you need to go to the experts. Or expert. Cynthia Whitham's (a licensed clinical social worker specializing in parent training and associate director of the prominent UCLA Parent Training program) solid suggestions proved as easy to implement with my 3-year-old as were with my 11- and 10-year-olds. And unlike some experts, she offers detailed steps to her simple solutions, with consideration give to the age of the child.If there's one book I actually enjoyed and found effective among the myriad of parenting tomes I've picked up along the way, it's this one: "Win the Whining War & Other Skirmishes: A Family Peace Plan".If you want to dial down the yelling and ramp up the compliance level in your home -- this is your book.

With all the self-help books out there today that require you to have a PhD in order to understand them, it's a great gift to find a book like "Win the Whining War...". It's a "matter of fact", common sense approach to bringing peace not only to you, but to your child. It's a blueprint for breaking old patterns, learning healthier ones; having a better relationship with your child and enabling your child to feel better about himself. I have read it and given it as a gift to at least a half dozen people. It works and it works quickly! After only one week, literally, we saw a difference in our 10 year old son. I recommend this highly to all parents.

I was talking with a co-worker today about this wonderful book! We work in the mental health profession working with children every day. But when it comes to our own it's a different story. My co-worker picked up this book to help a client and realized she could use it at home! It has a wonderful piece about how to go about getting your child to clean his or her room with the arguements---who can't use tips like that!