Author Biography

After becoming afoster parent to a little boy with behavior problems, Laurie Simons, MA, discovered her passion and began her career and life's work: helping parents who are raising challenging children.Laurie now has over thirty yearsexperienceteaching parenting skills and helping parents, teachers, and therapists address and prevent children's difficult behaviors in home, school, and daycare settings. Laurie currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, and provides online consultation to parents who are raising children with concerning behaviors.

Review

"In some entertaining and painless games, parents can teach children very important lessons in living ... I endorse this book heartily." -- John Gottman, Ph.D., author of Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting
"The gem of a book is straightforward, uncomplicated, and the essence of social relationships. The results of these simple games are amazing to observe." -- Trina Westerlund, Director of the Children's Institute for Learning Differences in Mercer Island, Washington

Long Description

Filled with more than 50 games designed to improve family relationships and social interactions, this book will help parents teach their children 12 basic skills--including listening, making appropriate requests, following directions, problem solving, and respecting boundaries--that will reduce sibling rivalries, eliminate whining and tantrums, stop interruptions, and decrease arguing, backtalk, and insults. The games are presented in an easy-to-follow recipe format, using only common household toys and materials. This is an excellent guide for preventing common family problems before they happen or stop them if an interaction is already out of hand.

Review Quote

"The gem of a book is straightforward, uncomplicated, and the essence of social relationships. The results of these simple games are amazing to observe." --Trina Westerlund, Director of the Children's Institute for Learning Differences in Mercer Island, Washington

Details