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Don't Give Me That Attitude! : 24 Rude, Selfish, Insensitive Things Kids Do and How to Stop Them
by Michele Borba
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Is your child 'self-centered, inconsiderate, and downright rude'? Then you will like this book by Dr. Michele Borba, in which she will help you give your child an 'attitude makeover,' stopping bad attitudes and replacing them with an 'antidote or missing virtue.'
But whatever else you think of this book, you must say that it is the most honest about what it can do for you. It is not a 'quick and easy solution' and in addition to reading this book, you will need to invest some 'serious time and energy' to change your kid's attitudes.
Being told that you are going to have to do some work shouldn't turn you off to this book though. If there were quick and easy solutions to your parenting problems, then there wouldn't be 1001 parenting books out there telling you how to do it.
I also like that the book doesn't give a free ride for parents when thinking about why their kids behave in certain ways. As Dr. Borba says, 'to help your child change, you need to step back and look at the big picture, and the place to start is by taking a good, honest look in the mirror' as a child's parents are usually 'the most enormous influence on your kid's attitude.'
That doesn't mean that parents are to blame for all of their child's problems, but if you are bad-mannered, impatient, insensitive, ungrateful, or a poor loser, etc., then it shouldn't be surprising that your child has those same bad attitudes.
To get started with your child's attitude makeover, you should figure out which of your child's attitudes that you most want to change. Do you want to change that your child is cruel, insentive, or irresponsible? Or that he is uncooperative, pessimistic, or cheats?
Once you decide which attitude that you are going to work on first, you can skip to that chapter in the book, where you will get specific, step by step advice on overcoming it.
The Demanding Child
For example, the chapter on the 'demanding' child offers this 'Emergency Attitude' prescription - 'Don't give in... Once your kids knows you mean business, you'll have taken a great leap forward in changing that bad attitude.'
Next you will review many of the possible reasons for why your child has such a 'demanding attitude so that you can turn it around.' Does he act the same way to everyone? Does he need more attention? Is he just spoiled because you give in to much to his demands?
Once you have a good understanding of why your child may have a demanding attitude, you can work at coming up with a good response to your child and explain how you expect your child to behave.
And if you need some more help, each chapter has its own 'Attitude Makeover Resources' list for both parents and kids.
Conclusion
Dr. Borba has an easy to read style, offers common sense suggestions, and has written a book that is well structured so that you don't have to read chapter after chapter before getting to the advice you need.
Is your child jealous? Then teach her about thankfullness, trust, and forgiveness. From being arrogant to unhelpful, Don't Give Me That Attitude! will help you to stop all of the 'Rude, Selfish, Insensitive Things Kids Do' and unlearn any bad attitudes they may have.
With this book and some 'hard work, constant practice, and parental reinforcement,' you will have your child's attitude tuned-up in no time.
Rating: 5 stars
Or look for other books by Michele Borba and more about discipline.
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