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Title: NOT a good child-rearing book!
Review: I am so embarrassed that I bought this for my daughter, a first-time Mom, without researching it more. She said that the author promotes numerous "old-school" practices, including letting toddlers cry to exhaustion and spanking (instead of using natural consequences and/or talking when behavior problems occur). She did say that there was one decent chapter that discussed research on birth order and child spacing. Fortunately, I bought a used copy that she can recycle with her old newspapers. There are so many other approaches to child-rearing that promote cooperation, responsibility, and self-control in little kids--WITHOUT spanking. Please don't rely on this author's advice. Fear of getting hit by a large person probably works well, but that should NOT be how to teach a young child how to behave--e.g., spanking him/her while loudly stating, "Don't hit your sister!" (A little hypocritical, huh?)
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