You Can't Make Me (But I Can be Persuaded)

From the back cover:

Turn Conflict into Cooperation

Many parents suspect their strong-willed child is deliberately trying to drive them crazy. Difficult to discipline and seemingly impossible to motivate, these children present unique, exhausting, and often-frustrating challenges to the those who love them.

But strong will is not a negative trait. These same children have firm convictions, high spirits, a sense of adventure—all the makings of a great adult. In this book you’ll discover how to channel that passion and determination in positive ways as you build a healthy relationship. Through insights gained from strong-willed people of all ages, you’ll…
· better understand how their minds really work.
· discover positive ways to motivate your strong-willed child.
· learn how to share control without compromising parental authority.
· apply key tactics to survive a meltdown.
· get practical tips for parents who disagree, blended families, and single parents.

Packed with immediately useful strategies to drastically reduce the level of tension in the home (or in the classroom), You Can’t Make Me shows how you can start today to build a stronger, more positive relationship with your strong-willed child.

Includes…
· Top Ten Tips for Bringing Out the Best in a Strong-Willed Child of Any Age
· A Strong-Willed Child Emergency Kit

My Thoughts:

FINALLY! A book that explains my 3 year old to a tee. Our typical day consists of Jacob being sweet one moment and the next he is yelling "No," "no way" or just screeching just because you have asked him a question or have asked him to do something.

In You Can't Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded), Cynthia Ulrich Tobias, offers strategies and tips on helping parents and caregivers get a handle on their strong-willed child (SWC). She does this in 3 parts in the book.

• Part 1 helps to define the Strong-Willed Child and includes a quiz to see if you and/or your child is really strong willed. Jocob had 8 out of 12 partly because he is only 3 years old. A few of the quiz questions I felt didn't apply because he is not old enought. So in my opinion Jacob is a strong-willed child.
• Part 2 shows how to bring out the best in your SWC. Tobias offers parents like me strategies to try with our SWC. I will be implementing these strategies throughout the next months and years and hopefully they will work. They have given me hope.
• Part 3 is how to bring out the best when you are in tough situations with your SWC. These included how to survive a meltdown, when real trouble occurs (think drugs, drinking, etc.) and how to repair a relationship with your SWC.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book as a resource for anyone dealing with a stong willded child or adult. It was informative, non-judgementatl and real. Tobias doesn't sugar coat the reality of having a SWC and I appreciate that. This is the first book on the topic that I have read and I am so glad to see that I am not alone in parenting a SWC.

Disclaimer: I was sent this book by Waterbrook Press Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.