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Raising Your Spirited Child  By  cover art

Raising Your Spirited Child

By: Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
Narrated by: Mary Sheedy Kurckina
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Publisher's summary

The spirited child - often called "difficult" or "strong-willed" - can easily overwhelm parents, leaving them feeling frustrated and inadequate. Spirited kids are, in fact, simply "more" - by temperament, they are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and uncomfortable with change than the average child. Through vivid examples and a refreshingly positive viewpoint, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka offers parents emotional support and proven strategies for handling their spirited child. Raising Your Spirited Child will help you:

  • Understand your child's - and your own - temperamental traits
  • Plan for success with a simple four-step program
  • Discover the power of positive - rather than negative - labels
  • Cope with tantrums and blowups when they do occur
  • Develop strategies for handling mealtimes, bedtimes, holidays, school, and many other situations

Filled with personal insight and authoritative advice, Raising Your Spirited Child can help make parenting the joy it should be, rather than the trial it can be.

©1991, 1998 Mary Sheedy Kurcinka (P)1999, 2005 & © 1991, 1999, 2005 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"This book is a major work on temperament and parenting that should be in every family library." (Nancy Melvin, associate dean for graduate programs and research, Arizona State University College of Nursing)

What listeners say about Raising Your Spirited Child

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    3 out of 5 stars

Would love to hear the unabridged

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes - Anyone who has a kid that is labelled as troublesome, or too high energy.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

No, because it's to help me raise my kids, if I was going to change the story I wouldn't be looking for help would I?

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator is the author reading her own work and does an ok job, considering that many authors who read their own books butcher it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Um I'm not going to answer that... There should be two types of review profiles, one for novels and another for self help.

Any additional comments?

WHERE IS THE UNABRIDGED. This book is outstanding, the whole book (which I have skimmed through and found very helpful. However this abridged version skips over many of the key points that need further emphasis. In fact I think onnly about 20% of the original is retained. I would return this and pay more for the unabridged if it ever comes out.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Refreshing Perspective

The audiobook left me feeling like I wanted her to tell me more...impart a bit more motherly wisdom on me, but alas, I suppose I have to go this road on my own as a parent. I am not normally one to read parent help books - they usually give me negative feelings in some way or another. This one was different. It spoke of ways to look at my child, and help him in his brilliance! One piece of info I found to be VERY helpful was how to allow your introvert/extrovert to 'recharge' and how the parents & teachers can help him do this. Great book.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best parenting book EVER!

Absolutely wonderful very informative, and very useful information. The information is easy to use and understand. Not a bunch of tiny tips. Overall concept is clear and easy to implement. This book also helps people understand themselves.
This book helps us see what is going on in our childrenand why they do the things they do. Therefore it is much easier to get them to do what we need them to do without a fight. This book would help us all live in harmony.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this book!

I bought this book to help me understand my five-year-old. Surprisingly, I was able to understand my husband and other children!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I finally understand my daughter

Would you listen to Raising Your Spirited Child again? Why?

I have listened to this audio book twice now and will continue to until I can remember every little bit.
This book was referred to me by my daughter's pediatrician and it has really helped me to understand my daughter. I was constantly in a battle with her and now I finally feel like I get it and I get her. My house is so much less tense and she seems so much happier, as am I.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

This book is filled with bits of information to show you how your "challenging" child is just seeing things differently and needing different responses from you. I know some parents do not want to hear that the problems their child is facing is their fault, but I absolutely have seen a difference in my daughter once I accepted her for the way she is and stopped trying to change her to what I thought she should be. Before reading this book I would have seen myself as a push-over but now I see it as just simply choosing my battles with her and sometimes letting her win.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening

This book helped me understand that both my child and I, fit within a group - and that group is amazing. I learned techniques to help my son channel their emotions and turn those generally perceived as "undesirable" traits into power and victory. It was comforting to feel that many parents do understand what we have to go through; and being candid, I know there are many others that have it much harder. The book allows you to feel hopeful and also accompanied through a journey that at times feels unbearable. Above all, we love our children; it is a matter of learning how to encourage them to reach their potential without losing faith -- and this books is a great guide.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

comprehensive

Mary writes a great manual for parents with children of high energy. Children are so diverse, but in many way the same, she helps clarify the issues that keep us up at night.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely helpful and insightful!!!

This book absolutely spoke to my soul!! I was worried to death about my son until this book. It has given me so much understanding to not only his feelings and temperament, but also as tiny person developing. Understanding him made me react differently and in return changed both of our attitudes throughout our day. I hope to continue to use it as a guide as he grows.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A game changer!

This was very helpful! The day I began this audiobook, I was challenged by my spirited 5 year old that afternoon. I used techniques from this book and have to say I was pleasantly surprised! We were able to work through a meltdown in about 15 minutes and she was pleasant and cooperative the rest of the evening.

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Game Changer

I found myself saying many times while listening to the book, “Yes! That’s my kid!” or “Yes! I feel like a terrible parent because it takes me 2 hours to get her to brush her teeth!” But it’s not just a book to explain how to parent a “spirited” child, but it’s a book to help bring some solace to spirited parents by saying “You’re not alone and you’re not crazy.”

I felt so empowered and even more sympathetic for my child after reading this. Our spirited kids are good kids. They just need to feel it and know it from us as parents and have the tools ready for them to use. Big fan of this book.

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