How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen

A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7

By: Joanna Faber, Julie King

Narrated by: Heather Alicia Simms, Michele Pawk, Candace Thaxton, January LaVoy, Rebekkah Ross, Gibson Frazier, Molly Pope

OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD

A must-have resource for anyone who lives or works with young kids, with an introduction by Adele Faber, coauthor of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, the international mega-bestseller The Boston Globe dubbed “The Parenting Bible.”

For nearly forty years, parents have turned to How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk for its respectful and effective solutions to the unending challenges of raising children. Now, in response to growing demand, Adele’s daughter, Joanna Faber, along with Julie King, tailor How to Talk’s powerful communication skills to parents of children ages two to seven.

Faber and King, each a parenting expert in her own right, share their wisdom accumulated over years of conducting How To Talk workshops with parents, teachers, and pediatricians. With a lively combination of storytelling, cartoons, and observations from their workshops, they provide concrete tools and tips that will transform your relationship with the children in your life.

What do you do with a little kid who…won’t brush her teeth…screams in his car seat…pinches the baby...refuses to eat vegetables…throws books in the library...runs rampant in the supermarket? Organized by common challenges and conflicts, this book is an essential manual of communication strategies, including a chapter that addresses the special needs of children with sensory processing and autism spectrum disorders.

This user-friendly guide will empower parents and caregivers of young children to forge rewarding, joyful relationships with terrible two-year-olds, truculent three-year-olds, ferocious four-year-olds, foolhardy five-year-olds, self-centered six-year-olds, and the occasional semi-civilized seven-year-old. And, it will help little kids grow into self-reliant big kids who are cooperative and connected to their parents, teachers, siblings, and peers.

I wasn’t sure about this...

This is one of those “no punishment” parenting style books, and I’ve always had a “just spank the kid already” philosophy. However, there is solid reasoning behind all of these tools, so I have been giving them a try. I have seen progress with my tantrum throwing two year old, and though I have only just finished listening to this book, I want to go right back through it and really internalize this very good and practical advice. It’s not like this is going to suddenly make you the perfect parent with perfect kids, but it has been helping me on a daily basis. On a side note, my husband is reading the hard copy and putting the tools to use with adults in his work place, and he says it’s making a positive difference 🤣.

Great read

I loved the ideas in this book and have tried to implement a lot in my parenting day to day. My only complaint on getting the audio version; they talk about pdf files/checklists that I didn't ever get.

Completely changes your perspective on parenting

As a mother of a 4 year old little girl with a speech delay, communication is so fragile and important. During quarantine I was finding that both of us were getting frustrated at each other's inability to really "listen" to each other, And I was finding ourselves heading into fits that lead to blowups, which lead to some sort of punishment or reaction. I decided to give this book a try to better homeschool my daughter, and to see if I could get any teaching pointers. Low and behold, as the book went on, I realized I was holding her back more than I ever thought. Be advised that not everything may be applicable to you and your child(ren) in this book. My daughter handles most conflict very well, and very rarely ever talks back and Ive never had to deal with violence from her, but what it addressed for me was my inability to see her problems through her eyes, or instead allowing her to choose a solution. Instead I always opted to just present the solution or made it easy for both of us for times sake. In the past two weeks, shes completely opened up in speech and attitude. Shes gaining more confidence because were having much more confidence with each other and as a first time parent, Im actually PREVENTING blow ups, tantrums, and frustrations. I HIGHLY recommend using this with people other than children as well. This helped communication and perspective in my marriage as well. The power of IMPLEMENTING listening has very much helped me all around. I very highly recommend this book.

Great content annoying narration

The woman who narrates a good portion of this has a very condescending tone when she talks about the kids. Other than that, the content is great.

Have heard it twice!

I love this book so much but I have listened to it twice. I have used some of the tools with my kids and they definitely work.