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Empowering Your Parenting Journey - the Family Coach


“I ask three things of the books I read. I want to learn something, I want to laugh, and, when a book is really special, I get to forge a personal connection with a writer for as long as I turn the pages. Catherine Pearlman has given me all three in this book, and much more.”
– Jessica Lahey,
Author of The Gift of Failure

Ignore It!

How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction

This book teaches frustrated, stressed-out parents that selectively ignoring certain behaviors can actually inspire positive changes in their kids.

With all the whining, complaining, begging, and negotiating, parenting can seem more like a chore than a pleasure. Dr. Catherine Pearlman, syndicated columnist and one of America’s leading parenting experts, has a simple yet revolutionary solution: Ignore It!

Dr. Pearlman’s four-step process returns the joy to child rearing. Combining highly effective strategies with time-tested approaches, she teaches parents when to selectively look the other way to withdraw reinforcement for undesirable behaviors. Too often we find ourselves bargaining, debating, arguing and pleading with kids. Instead of improved behavior parents are ensuring that the behavior will not only continue but often get worse. When children receive no attention or reward for misbehavior, they realize their ways of acting are ineffective and cease doing it. Using proven strategies supported by research, this book shows parents how to:

– Avoid engaging in a power struggle

– Stop using attention as a reward for misbehavior

– Use effective behavior modification techniques to diminish and often eliminate problem behaviors

Ignore It! Around the Web

Reviews

“…Fun to read and written in a parent-to-parent voice, this is a welcome reintroduction of well-tested child-raising methods and should be required reading for all parents.” – Publishers Weekly

“I ask three things of the books I read. I want to learn something, I want to laugh, and, when a book is really special, I get to forge a personal connection with a writer for as long as I turn the pages. Catherine Pearlman has given me all three in this book, and much more. She’s given me a resource I will refer back to over and over again, both as a writer and a parent.” –Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure

“Ignore It! is THE best parenting book I’ve ever read – it’s helped break the bad cycles of reinforcing bad behavior and missing good behavior that I’d fallen into. Our whole home is so much more peaceful and parenting has become wildly more enjoyable for me. Buying this book is the best $10 you will ever spend.” –Janssen Bradshaw, Everyday Reading

“Dr. Pearlman’s book offers parenting advice that is effective in every situation. Chock-full of practical applications, this book will help you ease out of those challenging situations every parent faces.” “¨–Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Psychotherapist and author of The Conscious Parent

“Fun, insightful straightforward advice that can really make your family life happier.” “¨–KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times Well Family columnist

“Dr. Pearlman recommended ignoring my son when he was having a hard time. At first it felt weird and wrong. What I soon realized is that he needed to calm down without me lurking over him. I wasn’t shirking my parenting duties by ignoring him. I was giving him space which I think I had not been doing before. Parenting is hard. As soon as you figure out one stage they move on and age into some other unknown territory. I am happy to have Dr. Pearlman to help me find my way.” “¨– Rachel Schinderman, Founder of Mommiebrain

“From tantrums and food strikes to sibling bickering and random refusals, children often seem to create drama and incite arguments intentionally. Demonstrating how debate and engagement with a child only encourages whining and negotiating, Pearlman presents a four-step process designed to increase both a child’s self-esteem and parenting satisfaction. Ignoring bad behavior is known to be a preferable and more effective tool than over-correcting. And as always, parents will need a lot of inner strength and consistency to get the desired results. VERDICT For public library collections.” – Library Journal

“Pretty soon, I started ignoring other, less tantrumy behavior, as well. Instead of yelling at my child to go back to time out, I let her wander into the kitchen while I kept chopping vegetables, until eventually – to my disbelief – she returned on her own.” —Parent.co

“I tried it and it worked. So I tried it again, and guess what – it worked again. So far my little lovelies have not caught on when I am using Dr. Pearlman’s advice and techniques, and we are all happier for it.” —2 Dads with Baggage