Workbook for the Heart of Anger: Practical Help for the Prevention and Cure of Anger in Children

I bought this book to help my 9 yr old who was frequently hateful and vicious toward everyone and himself. Much of the time, he was a normal kid, but he had a dark side that scared us. He had been in counseling with some success but there was more that needed to be done. From the first page, I knew this book was what we were looking for. It started by describing the principles healthy families live by (all biblical), which meant my husband and I had to "fix" our attitudes and behaviors first. It was almost a relief to know that our child's problems may have been exacerbated, or even created, by his parents, something the counselors would never say. Once the family infrastructure was solid(meaning the parents were setting biblical guidelines for rules of behavior in the home), then we could move on to addressing anger in our child. However, we found that as soon as we made changes, our child's behavior improved. He still got angry, but our reactions we different. We gave him tools to figure out what was REALLY going on. The anger and tantrums didn't last nearly as long. And we all felt more confident in using God's word to help us through. The book is very clear about not tolerating sinful behavior. It's just as clear in defining what sinful behavior is (all with biblical references) and how we should react to such (again, with biblical references). Most of this, we've read before in secular books but it makes more sense here. I felt like I wasn't relying on just fifty years of modern scientific studies, but on thousands of years of history. NONE of our problems are new. The book is conversational with many lists and charts. I appreciated that it also doesn't repeat itself as most self-help books tend to do. Each chapter is truly a different topic, building on the previous chapters without having to regurgitate them. It's not a fast book, because you will find yourself in serious contemplation about your own situation. I leave this book out so I can refresh my skills often. AND I've recommended it to several friends. Some read the first chapters at my house and I see a visible change in how they treat their kids the rest of the visit. It's NOT just for crisis situations. I'd suggest all families read it (especially NEW FAMILIES) to help avoid problems as their children grow.