Christlike Parenting (Glenn Latham)

reviewed by Cori

I feel a little beaten over the head with self-help lately. I know, I know, no one forces me to read the books I read. But between book club and recommendations, and my own desire to "fix it" these things happen. Now I need a big fat break and can't wait to become absorbed in another big fat delicious novel by Wallace Stegner.

HOWEVER, this book is a keeper. In fact, I plan to not only purchase it for myself but to find it in audio version for my husband also. (Yes, he can read, but he also has a long commute...great time for an audio book!) Dr. Latham studies behavioral science and this book made so much sense to me. I have started using some of the suggestions and while I have a long way to go, I feel that there's hope that I can respond to my children more positively than negatively, remain calm and supportive when they make poor choices, and just develop a great relationship with each one.

My husband says that he never once remembers his mother raising her voice at him or his siblings. I asked her about it once and she told me that she listened to her upset self one day and was horrified that her kids might remember her voice sounding that way. She determined to no longer yell at her kids. Dr. Latham gives a concrete way to make this a reality in his book. I find myself discouraged sometimes when I don't handle something as well as I should, but I believe that these methods will work. And if I can master them while my kids are small, we will know what to expect from each other and hopefully they'll consider me safe to be around.

To be a little more specific, Dr. Latham outlines a number of Christlike attributes and how we can demonstrate them in our parenting. But he has behavioral science and many years of family counseling to back him up, which is refreshing. Highly recommend this one.