I’ve written blog post after blog post about how difficult Greenleigh can be. How ordinary, everyday events like dinner become major battles. I often feel that she goes out of her way to break the rules. And even as she sits on the time out step, she doesn’t seem to have a care in the world, and will often stand up, say she’s sorry, then immediately repeat the behavior that put her in time out to begin with. And she’s not even 2 feet from the time out step. I mean, I know she’s a good kid with a good heart, but wow, can it get under your skin. I try to have patience, but by the end of the day I’m often too tired. The bad behavior seems to snowball, and before I know it, I just want to forget that the night even happened, which is sad because I get so little time with my girls during the work week.
As a parent, I’m always looking for a way to improve. To have more patience. To connect with my kids. So when I was given the opportunity to try Talking to Toddlers, I was ecstatic. Authored by Chris Thompson, Talking to Toddlers: Dealing with the Terrible Twos and Beyond is an audio guide to better communication with your kids. It’s intended for the parents of kids ages 2-6 and has quickly become an international best seller in the category of toddler parenting audio books. This audio series is broken up into 12 tracks, and comes complete with a Complete Course Guide, Summary, and Homework. I know, I know, who wants to do homework? But it’s so critical to this course that you really have to do it in order to get the most out of each lesson. It’s not written homework though, its real life application of the audio lesson you learned. The audio tracks vary in length, but are typically around 20 minutes long. If you’re more of a visual learner, like I am, you can always refer to the Complete Course Guide which contains a written transcript of each track. It’s recommended to listen to one track per day, complete the homework, and then move on to the next track.
I went into this review expecting this to be just another parenting book, but in reality, this audio course has changed the way I approach parenting. It’s not just a lecture with a workbook, it’s a tool box for parents that are struggling to communicate with their children. And there’s no doubt that Greenleigh and I struggle to communicate from time to time. It doesn’t teach one approach to a problem , it gives you lots and lots of solutions – you just need to find the one that works for you, your child, and the situation. It’s a guide to enjoying your children and your time with them.
From the very first chapter, it makes you question why you’re saying things to your child. Are you telling them no because their actions are harmful or is it just that you don’t want to deal with the consequences of their actions. For example, as we were driving home from school the other day, Greenleigh started to tear up a page from her coloring book. As the word “no” started to escape my lips, I thought about it. She’s happy. She’s quiet. Why am I telling her no? It wasn’t her sister’s creation from school that she was tearing up, it was a blank page. The more I thought about it, I didn’t want her tearing it up because I was concerned she wouldn’t clean it up and I would have to do it. But when we got home, I told her she needed to clean up and she did. It was a situation where I didn’t have to say no. There was no point. So I didn’t, and we drove home in peace. Crisis averted.
But more than anything else, this book shows you how to “trick” your child into the behavior you want out of them. By modifying your words and actions, you can often get the desired response from your child. I loved that this course assumed that the child would initially say no to whatever you ask them to do, because that is my life. Seriously. There are times I could tell Greenleigh to go eat too much candy and her answer would be no. Simply because I asked her to do it (of course I wouldn’t really tell her to go eat too much candy, but you get the point). I’ve now been taught how to approach as an ally, while in all reality guiding her towards my goal, instead of hers. Her goal normally ends in a screeching, throwing herself on the floor tantrum, so guiding her towards my goal is a really good thing.
While I won’t say I’ve mastered all the techniques in Talking to Toddlers, I now find myself stopping and thinking about how I can turn the situation around before anything has happened. I’m ahead of the game, and I like it. If you’re struggling with the terrible twos or have come to loathe the word “NO!” when it’s being said by your toddler 10 times per hour, I would strongly urge you to try Talking to Toddlers. It has made a difference in our house.
You can purchase Talking to Toddlers for immediate download by going to the Talking to Toddlers website. You can also visit their facebook fan page for more details about the program.
Want to win a copy of Talking to Toddlers? Great! One lucky reader is going to win a complete audio course. Just use the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win!
Disclosure: Chris Thompson sent me the program Talking To Toddlers for this review. All opinions are my own.
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I want to try talking to toddlers so it can help my son express himself with more words rather than screaming and tantrums
I would like it because sometimes i say no also so I dont have clean up after him..
We’re coping with a language delay, so anything that helps me communicate with my guy and help him be able to better communicate with me is a great thing. 🙂
I would love this because my two toddlers have tried and tried my patience! I try and not to say no and explain why I say things. My big thing right now is NO HITTING!
I think this would be a very neat product to have.
Thanks for this giveaway!! =)
My very stubborn little boy is just getting to be a toddler and I think this would be helpful 🙂
I’d like this product BEFORE my daughter is a toddler so I can be ahead of the game!
We have not yet hit the toddler years, so I want to soak up info right now to prepare!
My daughter is not yet a toddler but will be soon. She is my first and as such I have no experience talk with toddlers. I would like to win this so I am prepared for what is to come.
This week our battle is naptime … my bug is refusing to sleep and get soooo tired towards the end of the day!
i would like to watch it maybe it would help me talk to my kids
My daughter is very stubborn, and will continue to do something so many times it’s hard to keep our cool. Our biggest problem is trying to climb EVERYTHING.. over the arm of the couch, over the gates, ON the TV stand, in the magazine rack.. the list goes on, and on, and on! I would love to learn a better way of communicating with her.
I would like this for me and my daughter, my biggest struggle with her lately is talking back.
Consistency – they are so trying.
I think this would be perfect for me and my baby. Thank you for the chance!
i would love it so I can help my son communicate his needs more clearly to me.
Thank you so much for this wonderful review, Jennifer. We also have a free lesson at our site (www.talkingtotoddlers.com) which a lot of parents have found very helpful. If you head over there and enter your email address, you’d get to read the free lesson in no time.
* we promise not to send you spam, we hate it as much as you do. =)
I dread the meal time battles
Sticking to a routine can be a battle in those years.
We arent quite at the toddler time yet but it is right around the corner. The time to start learning so I can start out with hopefully more good habits than bad.
my son is only 10 months but i would like this now so i will have help
Why would I want this? I have a four year old, a two year old and a baby. nuf said. My biggest toddler battle? probably bedtime, though that has been getting easier the last week or so. I’m sure hoping it will stay that way.
Having my daughter not follow through with something,
I need it very much! I’m having difficulties dealing with my daughter to put her to sleep, to make her listen to my story telling and understand things I didn’t want her to do.
I would love to have his for my little guy!
I want to have the solutions ready for when the situation arrives
my toddler likes to hit and headbutt…. but only mom and dad. he also isn’t speaking verbally yet, just with ASL. While the ASL is great, he doesn’t know all the signs that he wants to use, and we don’t always understand his signs when he’s really excited and signing very hurriedly
Our biggest challenge with my almost 2 year old is when she doesn’t get what she wants, she goes nuts!
We are expecting and I would think this would help us prepare for our first
my toddler is speech delayed and very stubborn. I think this would help us out a lot!
For how to deal with back talk
I would love to try this because my toddler is going thru her terrible 2’s and doesn’t listen and throws fits constantly
something new to try!
My biggest struggle is getting her dad to communicate better with her. He gets frustrated instantly with her and I keep trying to give him better ways to deal with her, but he doesn’t like to hear it from me, so if we could go through this together, it would be helpful.
My son is still an infant, but I’d still love to win this, because I know it’s going to be necessary when I hit the Terrible Twos!
my dd refuses to listen and likes to throw fits
I would like to get this for my sister! She has two toddlers and mine are all grownup. This would be wonderful for her, I know I could have used it.
I would love to get this for my brother and sister in law! Their almost 2 yr old is out of control and I think this would help them greatly!
i want it because i am a first time mom and my son is ONE
I have a 1 and 3 year old and we could use help with discipling them both.
I could use this with my son and his younger brother. Right now we are having meltdowns when it is time to get dressed.
I have a 1 yr old. I know I will need help with discipline in the upcoming months