Video & Book Review: Winning At Parenting by Barbara Coloroso *

I recently finished a parenting course at my local neighborhood house. During the last few classes, we watched a video called "Winning at Parenting... without Beating your Kids" by Barbara Coloroso. I really liked the video and find it really interesting the way she presents to the audience. This is a very good video where Barbara gives a humorous approach to mealtime, bedtime, chores... and getting your kids out of the local jail. There are a lot of good points she makes and also gives great examples. Every parent and child are different, and you do what works for you.


This bestselling guide rejects "quick-fix" solutions and focuses on helping kids develop their own self-discipline by owning up to their mistakes, thinking through solutions, and correcting their misdeeds while leaving their dignity intact. Barbara Coloroso shows these principles in action through dozens of examples -- from sibling rivalry to teenage rebellion; from common misbehaviors to substance abuse and antisocial behavior. She also explains how to parent strong-willed children, effective alternatives to time-outs, bribes, and threats, and how to help kids resolve disputes and serious injustices such as bullying.

Filled with practical suggestions for handling the ordinary and extraordinary tribulations of growing up, kids are worth it! helps you help your children grow into responsible, resilient, resourceful adults -- not because you tell them to, but because they want to.

Good discipline is not punishment
Discipline and punishment are different. Punishment is supposed to make a person choose not to repeat bad behaviour. But, from punishment, especially physical punishment, children learn how the powerful make rules and the weaker must go along with it, or else. They might learn to avoid being honest about mistakes or to divert the blame on to others (“he did it, not me,” “it’s not my fault”). Because young children do not choose to mis-behave, they can feel like failures if punished over and over.

Here's a list of topics that Barbara covers in her video presentation:
- How to Think – not what to think…
- Give Life to Learning – Empower and influence…
- The Three Families: Brickwall, Jellyfish, Backbone…
- Chores
- The Three Cons: Weeping, Wailing, Gnashing Teeth…
- Discipline
- Allowance
- Mealtime
- Solving Problems
- Bedtime
- Fighting
- Jail – Don’t rescue, don’t punish… discipline
- Rebellion
- Sex Education
- Kids are Worth It!


About the Author

Barbara Coloroso is an international bestselling author and for the past 38 years an internationally recognized speaker and consultant on parenting, teaching, school discipline, positive school climate, bullying, grieving, nonviolent conflict resolution and restorative justice. She has appeared on Oprah, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and NPR and has been featured in the New York Times, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, and other national and international publications. Her uniquely effective parenting and teaching strategies were developed through her years of training in sociology, special education, and philosophy, as well as field-tested through her experiences as a classroom teacher, laboratory school instructor, university instructor, seminar leader, volunteer in Rwanda, and mother of three grown children. She is the author of four international bestsellers: kids are worth it! Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline; Parenting Through Crisis--Helping Kids in Times of Loss, Grief and Change; The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander--From Pre-School to High School, How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence; and Just Because It's Not Wrong Doesn't Make It Right--From Toddlers to Teens, Teaching Kids to Think and Act Ethically. Barbara's latest book is Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide...and Why it Matters. She also has two critically acclaimed video programs Winning at Parenting...without beating your kids and Winning at Teaching...without beating your kids.


Disclosure: I did not receive any products nor was paid for this post. The book and video mentioned above are my own purchased copies. Any expressed opinions are my own and personal thoughts. No other compensation was given.