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A review by matthewreid
1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 by Thomas W. Phelan
1.0
Awful book. Their method is all about eliminating "problem" behavior. And yes, I suppose the method is good at stopping a behavior you don't like once the child starts doing it. But the child only stops the behavior because they're threatened with a punishment and they don't want the punishment. Not because they're being taught the correct way to behave instead. The book doesn't at all address teaching the child to have their own self-discipline when an adult isn't around to monitor their behavior. It doesn't at all address trying to find the root cause of the behavior to figure out why the child was behaving that way in the first place and teaching the child to express their needs/wants in a more appropriate manner. There's only a brief chapter at the end about active listening and even in that chapter they mention threatening a timeout if the child starts to get too worked up during the conversation.
This book is all about using punishments and rewards to control your kids behavior and not at all about compassionately and kindly disciplining your kids and teaching them how to have their own self-discipline.
I highly recommend Kids Are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso and Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen instead.
This book is all about using punishments and rewards to control your kids behavior and not at all about compassionately and kindly disciplining your kids and teaching them how to have their own self-discipline.
I highly recommend Kids Are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso and Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen instead.