Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges Paperback – August 23, 2016

I count this book as one of the best parenting books I've read. It fits our parental style which probably can be summed up as firm but warm, caring and respectful to each other. This book taught us how to use listening as a tool. Yes sure we listened, but there is a difference to how you really "listen". It opens up your mind to a different approach, to a different way to assess the situations. I am very grateful to the authors who spent the time and wrote this book and shared their knowledge. Thanks to this book, now we have an amazingly powerful tool in our pockets that I foresee will be useful for the rest of our lives.In fact, this has saved me from a potential tantrum yesterday (and that's why I am writing this review now, because I really need to credit this book for the knowledge it gave me). Not only did the tantrum not go full-blown, through "listening", I found out that my child was actually using it (by being difficult) as an "intro", as a way to connect, so she could tell me that something went wrong at school earlier that day.I do wish we read this book a couple years earlier, so our family didn't have to go through (or test out) the other techniques, like discipline or threats. In our experience, none of them worked well. Most felt like winning the battle and losing the war. And they just didn't feel right to us.I got this book while reading The Whole Brain Child and personally I found the two books complimentary to each other. This book is easy to read, well written, full of real-life examples, and most importantly, the technique really works. We are not able to experience listening partnerships due to our circumstances but we could see how that can be tremendously useful to those who can.

I've been using the tools for a year now, and It's getting better and better for me! I've read over 150 parenting books (child development, child psychology, etc), and this one is in top THREE for me :)What I loved about this book is that it gives you tools to manage your OWN emotions, which is the most important thing in parenting. It also explained child's needs from a DEVELOPMENTAL perspective, and it's a life-changer. Our society expects children to BEHAVE, even if it's developmentally inappropriate.All the tools are evidence-based.I wish I got this book when my first child was born, I would have avoided so many parenting mistakes! But it's ok - it's never too late, one can always build connection RIGHT NOW, no matter where you are. It is so inspiring, and there's so much compassion all around. The world would be a kinder, more compassionate place if this book were distributed at the hospitals and birthing centers.Feeling deeply grateful to have found this loving, non-punitive parenting approach.The best thing is... I feel so good about myself, and about my parenting, and about my kids, and my husband. I understand them better. Now our house is full of giggles and cooperation. It's so good to know I am supporting my kids the way THEY need, vs what I THINK I should be giving them :)Parenting is such hard work. I see devoted, loving parents not getting through to their kids...Loosing close connections once they kids are older, all the while trying SO hard. Get this book so that you can stay connected (maintain a close relationship) to your child once they have a CHOICE whether to hang out with you or not.

This, by far, has been my favorite parenting book. Not only is it grounded in science, but it is very easy to read, and very applicable to any stage of your child's life. The tools are user friendly and simple in concept. However, applying them can feel a little challenging, as most of us didn't grow up being parented in this connected and compassionate way. So it takes some time and support to learn new ways and carve new paths. I love that there are other layers of support, not just the book - you can find help on the Hand in Hand facebook page or in the paid facebook coaching group. It is an investment that has paid dividends in my family, and has changed me as a person for the better. While of course at times big fears come up about messing up and doing it all wrong, using the Five Listening Tools in the book has given me such a strong basis of confidence, and deep knowing, that even when I mess up, connection and compassion can make the repairs and keep us on a good path. I wish I had been parented in this way!!!

I loved this book.It is an excellent resource for parents. I will refer back to it often. Tosha Shore is a wise parent coach.

This book has shaped how I parent and I go back and re-read sections of it as a refresher. The tips in this book hold core values and they are effective in changing your relationship with parenting and behavior your child exhibits. Simple tools that when implemented consistently provide almost immediate and hugely impactful results. I give this book to my friends and I would recommend it to anyone looking to help modify certain difficult behaviors in children and for those who just want to expand their parenting arsenal.

What do our children need? To bee seen and heard! This book, which I will honestly say I have not read cover to cover, has been a goo to for me in my mental health private practice. Stay Listening is beautiful, doable, and helpful!

This book has changed my life and my son's. I recieved this book a few weeks ago and started applying some of the concepts in my parenting approach and they have helped shift our dynamics, understand the impact on my emotional life due to the way I was raised and has given me the framework to create a listening partnership with another parent (this is happening for the first time tomorrow).I now can provide the space for my son (2yrs 9mo) to process his emotions. The first time I did this he was able to let out so much, by the end of his expression he looked at me and said, "wow there was a lot in there". Afterwards he asked me to lay down and he laid on my chest and fell asleep. As a single father in a new city, this work is priceless for me. Such deep gratitude.