How to Raise a Happy Child (and be happy too): Simply genius parenting strategies that work (with "how-to" videos included) Paperback – January 11, 2013

In her 20+ years of running a day preschool Heather Criswell has literally been a part of the lives of tens of thousands of children. Not bad for credentials. So as a father of two kids, ages 23 and 19, I was more than curious to see what she had to say about parenting. What I didn’t expect to find was that her book, "How to Raise a Happy Child," is one of the best manuals of interpersonal communication I’ve ever come across. Its pages are filled with Criswell’s strategies taken from both personal and professional experiences; there are gems scattered throughout the book. In particular, I found the transition from the “triangle of disempowerment” to the “triangle of empowerment” and moving from “mediator” to “facilitator” both to be an amazing shift in perspective. Other highlights in the book include:• Defining your success as a parent• Defining your goals as a parent• Defining happiness for you—and your child• Choosing the energy you bring to any situation with your child and beyond• Honoring your feelings first and then your child’s• Honoring every choice your child makes• Reminding your child of their greatness … alwaysWhat also makes the book effective and very readable is co-author Taryn Voget’s skills at taking the strategies of an expert and breaking them down into manageable chunks that the reader can quickly replicate and use. To that point, I can personally say that the one of the biggest challenges of parenting for me was (and still is) not necessarily knowing what to say to my kids but HOW to say it. In that context "How to Raise a Happy Child" is an absolute gold mine with many examples of Heather’s phrasing and use of indirect language all which can be used with not only your children but everyone else in your life. The very last section of the book where Criswell offers solutions to 20 of the stickiest, most problematic and even nightmarish parent-kid scenarios is worth the book’s weight in gold. I wish I’d had this book 20 years ago. Highest possible recommendation.

This book is a game changer for moms. I feel like we all go home with the basic information on how to raise a child, but I think THAT is the EASY part. I know what to do when my child has a fever, I know what foods to cook, I know when they should be walking and talking and saying their ABC's...what I didn't know, what most of us moms are missing, is the tools necessary to help with behaviors...how to help get both our needs met without tantrums and guilt and frustration. What Heather writes in her book is a gift to moms who want to do what's best for their children but just don't have the tools. Her words are brilliant and they have had such a wonderful impact on my family and how I approach parenting. I have many of my friend's reading her book because it is just so good. I cannot read it fast or slow enough because I just want to take in every word she writes. It was a true blessing to discover her!

This is the best parenting book I have found. It might be titled, 'Empowered Parenting, refresh, refocus and recharge your parenting intentions, goals and desires for you children.' Authors, Taryn Voget and Heather Criswell do an exceptional job of putting into words and breaking down successful strategies to try on. It is a worthy, truth seeking, clarifying journey for all parents. I would love to see a parent activity book to accompany it and a teacher version too.

My boys are teenagers now - but they are not too far along to benefit from the improvements I can make in my parenting style as a result of this book. Love it.

Didn't like it so redundant lost interest

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.My Review: I am so happy to be chosen to be a reviewer of this book. My husband and I love our kids, and know that our kids are really good. However, we also know we're not perfect, we make many mistakes daily, and some if not most of those mistakes affect our children, their happiness, their self-confidence, and how they feel about themselves. So as we are personally on a journey to better our selves as parents, to improve our parenting and discipline, this landed in my lap as a blessing from the Lord, because what I have read so far is really helping us! Let me just say, I love the QR scan codes for the videos, because me husband isn't going to sit down and read this, or let me read it to him. He just doesn't get anything out of big thick books. However, with these videos, he can watch them and learn from them as I learn from this book. He totally loves this idea! So thank you Heather and Taryn for thinking of busy dads, not just us moms here. The picture of the favorite poster is one that was used in the preschool mentioned in the book. We have printed up this poster for our kid's rooms so they can see it and learn to read it daily!Okay, to start off with, this book does take time and energy, and you may want to write down notes or highlight things that apply to you, and your children. The book is broken up into 5 sections. Part 1 covers "Deciding who you are as a parent", meaning what you want to get out of parenting, and how you define yourself now as a parent. Part 2 covers "5 ingredients for parenting success" a great section for notes and high lighting. Part 3 covers 1 chapter "Put Happiness into Action" you could technically stop reading after this chapter, but Part 4 is the stock of this stew; and without it you wouldn't really know how to make those changes you've just read about, want to instigate, and plan on using. So Part 4 covers "Feel like a Parenting Pro with these Proven Scripts", 22 scenarios that you can master, learn, and use for your every day parenting challenges. Part 5 covers the closing thoughts, and the list of videos pertaining to this book.The list of scenarios include: team sports (which would have been helpful while our kids were in soccer, but will help us when they play baseball this spring), "I hate you!" towards parents or siblings (which is unfortunately used by our 4 year old way more than we like at all, "I'm not tired" (which at our house means they'll play for hours once in bed, and no amount of threatening, ginger powder on their tongues, or time outs do anything for this issue).Let me tell you, our 6 year old now learns the names of those kids whom he plays with, where otherwise he wouldn't have even cared to know their names. Our 4 year old gets after me and Daddy now any time he hears us use the "H" word (hate) even if we're referring to that stupid dog who barks all the time, or the crazy drivers on the road. And now for bedtime our kids fall asleep within 10 minutes of going to bed, with no playing or crying, where as it used to take HOURS for them to fall asleep. And this is just the tip of the ice berg for us. We still have so much to practice with our kids from this book! And each time they present us with a whole new playing field we can still review and go over what we know and adjust it to each child and their personal situations. I think every young couple ready to have kids should read this and start memorizing what to do, so when they come to those situations their bases are already covered! I highly recommend this book.Pros: AMAZING!, it works great, easy to read, makes sense, applies to so many people and situationsCons: noneMy Rating: THUMBS UP