minti, powered by parents Powered by Parents
First Visit?     Register     Login
 

This site gets better with user participation. Please participate... Some of the main things you can do is rate this advice, add comments to this advice, add links to and from this advice, and/or write your own advice.

  email  print
  report   
Like this topic?
Write Advice
Add to Favorites
Advice that links to this one
ADVICE RATING
 (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) 4.65 (Highly recommend) from 14 votes (357 Visits)

A book recommendation about feelings

Anonymous Author (November 2006)

Do book recommendations belong somewhere other than advice?  I'm still trying to find my way around Minti.

Here's the book.  It's called Between Parent and Child by Dr. Haim Ginott.  I haven't actually finished it, but have already had some amazing insights about what to do with

my girls and their emotions.

  • Kids need a lot of help in understanding their emotions.  (This is the part I knew, what I didn't know was how to go about it.)  He explains that one of the best things you can do for your kids when they're feeling strong emotions is to first name what you see without making judgments.  For example, when little David is scowling and stomping around the house:  "I see an angry boy.  I see a very angry boy."  This helps the child to understand what they're feeling and lets them know that those feelings are OK. 
  • It also gives them an opportunity to better understand what's going on inside them.  Not only do kids want you to know what they're feeling, they want and need to know themselves.  I don't have to search very far back in my memory (like probably earlier today) to know that being able to articulate which emotions you're feeling can be really hard.  Helping our kids understand their emotions by giving them language to articulate it is not only helpful in the moment but will help them be emotionally healthy throughout their life.
  • When kids are acting out, rather than immediately disciplining the behavior, it helps to name the emotions behind the actions.  This goes a long way in helping them to calm down, at which point the behavior is much more effectively dealt with.
  • Praising and encouraging kids' positive actions is helpful, making value judgments about them as people is not.  Telling them they have done well at a specific task helps them feel more confident about their abilities (you did such a great job cleaning that up), but tying their actions to who they are as people (you are a good girl) can create a lot of pressure.  They begin to feel there is an image of themselves they must live up to, and can feel afraid of not being able to pull it off.
  • One of the best points Ginott made is that we should not stifle our own angry feelings and hide them from our kids.  While it can be very harmful to take our anger out on our kids, expressing our anger and frustration to them and in their presence helps them see that anger is normal and to understand appropriate ways of dealing with it.  He points out that they know when we're angry anyway and acknowledging it helps them feel they can trust us.  Statements like "I feel angry.  I feel frustrated.  When I see this happening, I feel mad."  These statements do not attack your kids, but they do express what is true about yourself.

I'll share more when I read more.  This has already been so helpful for us in dealing with our girls' outbursts and tantrums.  (And someone please let me know if I should be talking about books in some other forum.)

Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of Minti.com Pty Ltd. If you are searching for health related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Terms of Service for more details.

Related Content:

Bookmarks:

ADVICE RATING
 (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) (Highly recommend) 4.65 (Highly recommend) from 14 votes
Report

Thankyou for your vote (you can change your vote at any time). Please leave some helpful comments about this advice using the box below.

ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
GoodGoodGoodGoodGood
AverageAverageAverageAverageAverage
PoorPoorPoorPoorPoor
Very PoorVery PoorVery PoorVery PoorVery Poor

Voting help


 
Add a comment on this article.

 

RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
Helpful parenting books
One book that I really enjoyed was "How To Really Love Your Angry Child". It was written by D. Ross Campbell M.D. with Rob Suggs. It talks about anger and how both kids and parents can best handle it in healthy ways. It talks about why kids fight authority due to wanting to feel they have some control over their lives and how parents need to set the example of how to love even in the hard times. It also talks about special kids with special problems. It is an amazing book. Another book I was told about is "The Angry Teenager". I have not read it yet but it was referred to me by someone who has a lot of experience and who's opinion I value very much. I am sorry to say that I do not know at this time who wrote it but hope to find out soon when I go to the library to check it out.  


Reply Reply Report
lightbee
December 2006 | lightbee
sounds good!
I think I will definitely have to check that book out.  Can you tell me where you got hold of it?


Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
sounds good!

Hello! I got the book at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Rhonda 



Reply Reply Report
tinker79
November 2006 | tinker79
Talking to them
Great tips!  I am sure I will find this useful!  Thanks again!!


Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
Talking to them

I hope it helps. I loved both the books I mentioned.

Rhonda



Reply Reply Report
wildrose
5.00 (Excellent) | November 2006 | wildrose
Talk to them
I've never read the book, but we do intend to talk to them first before we jump to any conclusions. Either we see them sad or angry, we always ask, 'what's happen? is that a sad face? or is that an angry face?, tell me what's wrong?'. We try to encourage them to use words to express their sad and angry feeling. Also like you said, don't forget giving praise when they do very good, and use their words instead of actions (of anger) when they're mad. I also told my son that anger won't fix what ever he angry for. It's better to calm down and speak to me/someone for help.


Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
Talk to them

I agree with asking them what they are feeling. Sometimes kids have a hard time expressing their feelings. Sometimes it is a disagreement with a friend that makes them act mad at us and sometimes talking and letting them know we will listen will help. I have found that kids some times direct their anger at their parents because they feel safer directing at us then at other people.

Rhonda 



Reply Reply Report
Kristen
5.00 (Excellent) | November 2006 | Kristen
Naming the emotions
we really try to do this as well.  Thanks for the book referral.  It looks like one I need to check out.


Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
Naming the emotions
You are welcome. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Reply Reply Report
jenlemen
5.00 (Excellent) | November 2006 | jenlemen
this is validating
especially since i've spent a week saying, "i feel angry!  i'm frustrated!"  :)
personally, i think this is perfect for the advice article and it's exactly the kind of thing i really need to know as a parent,  so keep reporting as you are reading!  i like it!


Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
this is validating
Thank you! I love learning ways to help kids communicate in healthy ways. We as parents need all the good advice we can get.


Reply Reply Report
dolphins30
5.00 (Excellent) | November 2006 | dolphins30
talking things over

Every time my daughter has a tantrum, i always talk it over with her  why she had the tantrum, and she feels better afterwards.



Reply Reply Report
      RhondaTheBaffledMom
February 2007 | RhondaTheBaffledMom
talking things over
That is the best way to do it. They do not always like to talk but it helps when they do. Sometimes I just let the kids know I will not make them talk if they are not ready to but that I am there for them when they want to talk. 


Reply Reply Report

Know someone who would like this site? Refer a friend