"Locking the door for a short time is not by itself abusive, but for some groups (for example, foster parents) and in some places (for example, some provinces of Canada) it is illegal. If you have a really difficult child, you should check what regulations apply to your situation and get some professional advice."

(This is after recommending Dutch doors or barricading your child in their room, and before explaining ways to handle the destruction caused by a trapped child)

Some stuff is usable but I can't take all of this seriously. It may have worked for the author but I think we know better nowadays.

Recommend at work frequently - figured I should read it all at some point

It just is to long for what it is. Tons of filler thought the central lessons are strong. The 1-2-3 counting has worked since I have tried it.

It makes sense. We've only just started the "program" with our 20-month-old so I can't really say whether it works yet firsthand, but I don't see why it won't. I'll adjust the rating if necessary after a few months of use.

This book lines up well with my beliefs and style, at least in theory--my kid is just over a year old, so we're untested in this kind of discipline. It's clearly written and I think we will actually be able to follow it, which is key. I read this book from the library but am buying a copy to keep for reference.

I only have two small quibbles. Number one, there's not much for someone like me, who's reading ahead and wants to get off on the right foot. I know, I know, the title says "Children 2-12" so I'm not taking any stars off for that, but I was still hoping for instructions on how to ease into counting, etc., with a very young child, rather than jumping in to change a discipline strategy that's not working. My second (and only legitimate) quibble is that I think there are better approaches to picky eaters. That's a very small part of the book and it won't be difficult to omit it.

good point about not responding to a child's tantrum w/a tantrum of your own

DNF. I have come to the conclusion that most parenting books are just common sense branded in a different fashion. Parts of this were good, parts of these are not going to get you a kid that understands what behaviors are problematic because you are putting them in timeout and having no conversation with them about the issues.

I had heard of this book, so I decided to read it. It seems like some good ideas but I don't plan to implement it now. Baby girl doesn't really do anything I find countworthy at the moment - most things need to be stopped right away, like hitting the dog. And at 2, she it too young for a lot of the other things in the book.
It may be worth reading again in a year or two, and even then a lot of it won't apply.
This book is very readable.

2.5---it was half way useful. More than anything it reminded me of a couple key concepts when interacting with kids in high tension/emotion situations. Generally, though, the tone is not my favorite--peppered with dismissive, pejorative, and unnecessarily blunt phrasing. Still a much bigger fan for the more thoughtful (even as it uses many of the same ideas and techniques) Kurcinkas Raising Your Spirited Child and Fabers How To Talk...

Yikes. This book presents a pretty harsh parenting technique and assumes that kids who are pretty old can’t be reasoned with. The whole first part of the book explains that this is to get you to stop hitting your kids. If you aren’t that far gone, check out a different book like No Bad Kids, How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk, or The Happiest Toddler on the Block.