Raising Your Spirited Child Rev Ed: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic

I can only describe this book as liberating. When I found it, our son was 5. I sat and cried with relief, knowing I was not alone. 7 years later I still quote many part of the books. I don't even know how many copies I have bought and lent out. My favorite part was the real definitions of introvert vs. extrovert...wow, what perspective. This concept alone has totally helped me to better understand my family and friends. It is also a wonderful thing to teach my kids so that they can recognize the needs of themselves and their friends. Our son is now 12 years old, very intelligent with a huge heart. This book helped us to learn how to adapt his environment without enabling him. Understanding his need for more sleep, less drama, and smoother transitions help him to be stronger and more secure emotionally and let's be honest....it all benefits the family dynamics. Praise God!

As soon as I started reading this book, I used some of the recommened techniques and got miraculous results. It helped me deal with my stress, and I found my 3 year old really relieved too. I guess anyone would prefer this style of interaction over our previous push & pull. I think this is a must read for anyone with any kind of child...not just spirited ones. It not only gives incite into understanding and dealing with your child's temperament, it helped me understand my own better too so I could clue her into my trigger points as well as her own.

This was a total eye opener when I originally purchased this book 10 years ago! (My son was 2 and my daughter was a newborn!)I've since recommended it and loaned it out so many times that my copy didn't come back the last time! (And I can't remember who has it now!) I both laughed & cried while reading it and I finished it in 1 night (newborn-remember?)It really helped both my husband and me see what WE were doing differently--not necessarily "wrong", just not RIGHT for our son--and WE made changes. (Note to the person who wrote "this book had no tips we could use": read it again & remember you're the parent who needs to guide the child.) We realized simple things--we shouldn't have taken him on numerous errands at the end of his day or WE paid for it (our son doesn't handle ANY change well and he still doesn't--he's 12 now!) We've had to teach HIM how to handle difficult situations. I'm now going to read it again to help with the preteen years for both of my children!

I read maybe 15 pages of this book before bursting into tears of relief. At 16 months old, my son has never been easygoing or mellow, but as he entered toddlerhood, I felt like I was failing as a mom because I couldn't control him. I didn't understand why other kids napped for hours, slept through the night at 6 months old, and adjusted quickly to new experiences, while my son still wakes up several times a night, rarely naps for more than an hour a day, and shrieked in rage when he had to start wearing shoes or when he didn't like how his socks felt. Other books recommended a stern, inflexible parenting approach that just resulted in MORE meltdowns, MORE stress, and MORE frustration. Did I mention that "cry it out" was an unmitigated disaster in our house?

Finally, this book validated him, and my husband and me. He's not "bad", we're not failing as parents. He's just more intense, more perceptive, and more sensitive. It takes different strategies for us to be successful and calm than for parents of more relaxed children, but the book really focuses on how to do that, how to help our child be successful with daily life. There are many different levels to any given "spirited child", so this book's scope is not limited to a high-energy kid. Introverts vs. extroverts, energy levels, sensitivity, and so much more are covered in depth. This is not a book about excusing poor behavior, though. The parent is absolutely still the one in charge and still has to work with the child to ensure that they can be spirited and still be productive, safe, and enjoyable members of their family.

If you feel like you're constantly battling it out with your child, that you've lost control, and/or that your child is running you ragged, I highly recommend this book. Oh, you'll probably learn a few things about yourself, as well.

I was only on the first page before the tears started. I have not made it all the way through this book yet, but I already feel relieved to be looking in at what a day in my daughter's life is like. There are times when I laugh because I feel that Ms. Kurcinka must have been spying on our day to day lives. It took 8 years for someone to have the guts to tell me that no, my child wasn't ADHD, she wasn't crazy, she was probably strong-willed like hers, which led me to this book. I much prefer the term spirited that this book uses (I have discovered I too am spirited--big surprise) and recommend it to anyone who is searching for a little peace.