The IE Mommy

Sharon Silver believes that par­ents know, deep inside of them­selves, what to do and how they want to par­ent. The con­fu­sion begins when a par­ent is involved in a whirl wind of emo­tions. When par­ents are stressed their minds become flooded with emo­tions and they react. When par­ents respond their minds remain clear enough to acti­vate the learn­ing needed for the situation.

No par­ent has the emo­tional capac­ity, when involved in an emo­tional sit­u­a­tion, to put the sit­u­a­tion on pause while they read a chap­ter to search for a way to arrive at a calmer outcome.

This book is writ­ten in a way that makes that possible.

Stop React­ing and Start Responding:

• Is a no-nonsense, reality-based book writ­ten in the “blog” style, using short, con­cise tips
• Offers quick reminders of what to do when a par­ent and/or child is reacting
• Tack­les the emo­tions that are pro­duced dur­ing the every­day sit­u­a­tions that par­ents face
• Explores a dif­fer­ent way to look at sit­u­a­tions, and shares a new per­spec­tive that ignites a parent’s own wis­dom, allow­ing them to resolve sit­u­a­tions calmly, lov­ingly, and firmly
• Allows par­ents to enjoy the read and then use it as a tool to remind and sup­port them when they or their child are reacting

A per­fect exam­ple would be, when a child says, “No!” A lot of par­ent­ing infor­ma­tion only address how to stop a child from say­ing “No!”
Stop React­ing and Start Respond­ing™ explores why a child might be say­ing “No!” and shows a par­ent how to acknowl­edge those emo­tions, while teach­ing the child what they should be doing instead.  And does it all with­out punishment.

I have had this book for a while and it’s taken some time to read it and to write my review? Why?

Well for one thing I received a PDF copy so it was a problem logistically to have my net-book with me (at all times) in order to read it. Second…it’s a book that requires you to “sit and ponder” the information.

Now, while I say “sit and ponder” please, please do not equate that with boring or difficult. That is not the case at all. I only mean that it was wonderful to offer reflection and mediation on the concepts, principles and tips that were offered in this book.

Sharon Silver offers fabulous, practical and easy to change examples and steps to become a better parent. The book opens to a “how to use the book” section that is imperative to read. It helps establish the guidelines and methods within the book. Then the book is sectioned off into chapters and cover such topics as: lying, disobedience, laziness, stubbornness etc.

You can read the book in it’s entirety or merely the chapters that apply to you and your child. The manner in which Sharon Silver writes is friendly, open and a bit like an older sister offering advice. It’s comforting. While Ms. Silver does include behavioral information and guidance on the “whys” and “hows” of a child’s behaviour it does not read like a psych or counseling text book.

The tips, suggestions and strategies within this book are steps that any parent can manage and succeed with using. The IE Twins are wonderful little girls and I enjoy their personalities but there are times when life is a bit too much and they are a bit too loud and frankly, ornery.  It was a blessing to read the descriptions within this book that not only applied to my daughters but to myself as well.

I have already implemented many of the ideas that were suggested and have seen results within our interactions as a family. I will definitely need to pick up a hard copy to have for easy reference.

A huge thanks to Sharon Silver for the opportunity and honor to review this book. Definitely life-changing.