REVIEW: Stop Reacting and Start Responding E-Book

I was e-mailed, by the author Sharon Silver, about reviewing her book “Stop Reacting and Start Responding”.  I chose the e-book option, although there is a paper and audio version of the book.  I often get caught up with things and stop listening to anything audio so that just wasn’t the best option for me.  I was very interested in reading this e-book, because as a lot people know Elsa has entered a very challenging stage.

So, first, I will break down a little bit about the book for you.  The book is divided into chapers AND situations that parents encounter on a day to day basis.  I like it because it keeps it real.  You can really relate to the situations that are laid out for you.  The author is very real and genuine, and she even left some improper grammer for us to boot .  This is her personal quote in the beginning about it, “The mistakes and typos in this book are my gift to you. I hope they’ll remind you that there’s no perfection in parenting or in life!”.  She also openly admits before the first actual chapter, that she does not offer new information, just simply a new perspective on the situations.  She admits that these are her views and that it is up to use to pick and choose what works for us as individuals.  I love the fact that she is so open and genuine, before she even starts her book.

There are 14 chapters in this books, and they are short which I like.  The end of each chapter has a “quick review” at the end for easy reference.  I like that because during a situation you can pull it up and take a quick look-see.  The chapters are as follows: Behavior, Choices, Feelings, Frustration, Grandparents, Hearing, Out in Public, Power Struggle, Reacting, Real Life, Rules, Self Esteem, Separation Anxiety, Siblings and Travel.  Every Chapter of this book hits very close to home in our house right now.  Dixie is still a pretty laid back kid, but Elsa is going through so many physical and emotional changes she is sometimes extremely hard to deal with.  So many of these chapters have helped me to relate to these changes in her life better.  The siblings chapter was very nice for me, because it helped me work through some of the jealousy issues with the girls even though they cannot fully verbalize their feelings about it.  Grandparents is also a good chapter, although we live close to our parents we don’t see them a lot and it touches on that subject.  It also touched on the subject of others watching your children, which I found especially helpful.

Some of the suggestions I definitely have utilized and have noticed a change, others don’t seem like they are for us at this time.  I may utilize them in the future though.   As long as I keep up with the consistency I feel Elsa’s learning to deal with all of the changes going on with her and in her life will greatly improve.  It has also reduced my stress level immensely.  I still do get overwhelmed, but I try my hardest to control it around the children.  We are only human, so it is a learning curve to alter our ways.  I would like to thank Sharon so much for this opportunity.  It has really helped me in so many ways as a mother, to look at things in a slightly different perspective than I normally do.  I really do like this book, and I highly recommend it.  Especially to those that are finding themselves nearing the end of their parental rope.  It has a lot of to offer.

You can purchase this book on the Proactive Parenting Store. You can also visit the home website, Proactive Parenting or follow Sharon on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy parenting everyone!

*please read review disclosure.