Parents: Listen to Your Kids

Concise and useful, this brief program wastes few words and relies on common sense instead of trendy psychobabble. Authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish offer frank advice that is simple to understand and execute. Basically, we should listen to our children. Let them talk about their problems and express their emotions without trying to fix everything or qualify the situation.

Faber and Mazlish teach parents to set limits and engage children in problem-solving. Specific problems are detailed through brief dialogues between parents and children. Their guidance is quite specific, offering solutions for many difficult situations. Advice is consistently positive and sensible.

Unfortunately, the delivery is somewhat uneven. Several actors are used for the simulated conversations between adults and children. Although these conversations generally work well, one of the authors occasionally pretends to be a whiny child and sounds amateurish and annoying.