YOU LITTLE SOD, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!! (Toddler Taming - Dr. Christopher Green)

Member Name: indigojade

Product:	Toddler Taming - Dr. Christopher Green
Date:	25/11/01 (1104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: excellant resource for all parents, tried and tested methods that really give results

Disadvantages: some methods are a little too harsh for my liking, but can be adapted with ease.

These are the words I heard a mother use to her three year old in the supermarket the other day! The little tykes crime?? To put in the shopping basket some sweets that he had been told repeatedly he couldn’t have. Needless to say he then proceeded to scream and whine and rant and rave until the poor mother agreed – mummy 0 toddler 1. How many times whilst out shopping do you see this happening?



Ever wanted a book that would completely change your life and that of your tantruming toddler? Well here it is folks, not exactly a new book on the scene, but has been updated for today’s little hellions!


Toddler Taming by Dr Christopher Green is the most essential book for every parent, with children aged 1- 5. I firmly believe it should be given out at birth instead of the ridiculous book they do give you that tells you how wonderful your baby/ toddler will be. Do not be deceived by their adorable looks, when babies hit toddlerdom they are a force to be reckoned with – worst of all THEY KNOW IT!!

So who is this Dr Green that will change your toddlers behaviour with words, he is Consultant Paediatrictian and head of Child Development Unit of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney. Not only does he have an impressive array of letters after his name – he also has the benefit of experience with his own two sons, all too often you will get ‘expert’ advice from someone who has never been a 24 hour parent.

So what is so special about the book - well in a nutshell it offers PRACTICAL advice. It understands your problems, and I haven’t found a problem that hasn’t been covered …..YET! The techniques used to ‘tame’ your toddler are easy to put into practice and reassure you that you are not being too hard/soft on your child.

Some Chapters included in the book are:

~ Confidence is the trick – the most effective weapon you hav
e against your willful bundle of joy is confidence, once they see that waver they have cracked your code and the safe is theirs for the raiding. There is a little section about some myths – all of them blown into outerspace as most certainly incorrect for example ‘working mothers do great harm to their children’. The chapter does emphasize the foundation for a happy secure childhood is laid down by love, consistency, good example, reasonable expectations, fun and enjoyment and confidence. A child who is brought up in a tense and violent atmosphere where parents are shouting and swearing at each other daily, is not going to be a particularly happy child. A child who swears and rants at his mother and is not chastised in anyway is going to be confused when he does the same with his father and is punished.


~ What makes toddlers tick?
You will laugh and cry in the section, it is so accurate it is untrue. You gain a good insight into perhaps WHY little Jimmy does the things that he does, and start to avoid such situations or remedy them. Perhaps your toddler rants and raves in the supermarket that he wants some sweets you can either give in and avoid the embarrassing outburst and listen to the tuts of stronger willed parents and the ching of the dentists till, say no and mean no and have your child rant and rave around the shop, again listening to the tuts of other shoppers or you can leave your child with a relative whilst out shopping. I know my preferred method and shopping is a much more enjoyable experience. Once your child knows that a firm ‘no’ means exactly that, they know where they stand.

~Behaviour – what is normal?
This chapter will most certainly reassure the majority of parents that their child is completely ‘normal’ and that the tantrums they are experiencing happens to everyone! All toddlers crave attention and will find a way to get it! All toddlers tend to be stubborn and wi
llful, All toddlers show little respect for other people property, are completely blind to the chaos they create and change their minds every minute. It is all too easy to say but very hard not to compare your child to someone else’s, try not to – your child is an individual, it is up to you to mould that individuality. I fall in the camp that says that no child is born ‘bad’ they are only made bad by their environment. Watch your child at play and listen to the phrases they use – they are the ones that you use in daily life. If she/he hears daddy/ mummy swearing all the time – chances are he will do the same.

~Understanding toddler behaviour

This Dr could make a fortune if he could write a book about what makes men and women tick and was as accurate about it as he is a toddler! If you have a bad day, chances are your little treasure will also have a bad day, this could be due to the fact your stress and tension is passed on, or everything they do seems 10 times worse because you are tired/angry/upset.

As you can see the book firstly examines the ‘whys’ of the behaviour of toddlers rather than just telling you ‘how’ to deal with things, it does then go on to deal with ‘how’ to deal with things such as tantrums, poor sleeping patterns, poor feeding habits, sibling rivalry as well as an excellent section on coping with a disabled child.

My whole family have benefited from reading Toddler Taming, and have a much more relaxed attitude towards looking after James, as a result his behaviour seems to have improved in many ways.

One of the main things I have taken from the book is that when something happens that in the past I might have perceived as ‘naughtiness’ – tipping out the toy box in temper, pouring a drink on the floor in temper or something similar, there are three words I say to myself (never never out loud) ‘Does it matter
’. Ok so it might look messy when the toy box is tipped out, but rather than ranting and raving, I just walk into the kitchen and do something in there – now that didn’t get the reaction that James wanted, so perhaps he will try and do something a little bit more naughty like pour his drink on the floor, again, does it really matter, ok the carpet is a little bit wet, but soon dried with a cloth, again no reaction. James soon gets fed up with getting no reaction and goes and switches the kettle on (good behaviour) and gets praised for it.

I have implemented some of the techniques mentioned in the book with excellent results. One of the main problems we had was James getting up in the middle of the night and getting into my bed – ok not the worst problem in the world, but then again he is a very fidgety sleeper and the bruises I received from his feet were not particularly nice!! After 5 nights of taking him back to his own bed, quietly and calmly, he now stays there ALL night long unless he has a bad dream of course. The result is a better rested much happier mummy!! So you see it isn’t all waffle, but good no nonsense easy to implement advice.



Although I really do praise the book to the rooftops, I don’t always agree with some of the methods it suggests to calm and control behaviour. However it does give a good insight into some methods that can be used and you can adapt them, as we have done to a way that suits your ideals.

The book also has useful appendices including ‘meaningful milestones’ what your child should be doing at what ages, recommended childhood immunisations, heights and weights for 1 – 4 year olds and some helpful names and addresses.



So any stressed out parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles anyone who deals with children, rush over to Amazon or go to any good bookstore and order your copy now, priced at £9.99 it really is within everyone̵
7;s budget. It really is an awesome book that will change your attitude to your children. Even after all this time I still reach for it in moments of extreme stress, usually when I have had a bad day to give myself the extra boost I need to maintain the work we have put into helping make James who he is. The book is very easy to read and I found myself skipping to the relevant parts, for example tantrums, poor sleeping in a desperate bid to resolve everything in one go – please don’t do this, the book deserves to be read from start to finish in that order. It is such an easy book to read, and an enjoyable one at that, with many an amusing anecdote or case history to entertain as well as inform.

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