Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent by Carla Naumburg, PhD could not have come at a better time. Our daughter is two going on 16 and we’ve been at our wits-end trying to deal with her new-found tantrums, demands, and bizarre behavior. She’s learning to push our buttons, test boundaries, and get a rise out of us. And I can tell you that yelling just makes us all feel horrible. So what do we do?

How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids boasts itself as a life-changing guide to fewer parental meltdowns and a more peaceful family life. And while I don’t necessarily agree with everything in the book, it is certainly full of honest, and useable tips that will leave you feeling more in control. And what’s more, it’s easy and fun to read!

I’d definitely recommend this book to any parents with kids between toddler and teenage years, who want to learn how to:

• Identify your triggers: The first step is understanding what pushes parental buttons.

• Limit button-pushing: Which includes strategies like getting more sleep, single-tasking, asking for support, and basically being kind to yourself.

• Distract yourself: Identify when you’re about to lose it, before it happens, and distract yourself with deep breathing, air guitar, or anything that calms you down.

Synopsis:

Ever lose it with your kid? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Parenting is stressful, children are insane, and you’re only human. Carla Naumburg, PhD, a clinical social worker, was so at a loss with her daughters that she found herself Googling “how to stop yelling at my kids” during a particularly grueling evening. That moment led to this book—a short, empathic, insight-packed, and tip-filled program for how to manage your triggers, stop the meltdowns, and become a calmer, happier parent with calmer, happier kids.

How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids not only explains why we explode at our children but also teaches us everything we need to know to decrease stress and increase patience, even in the most challenging family moments.

Based on recent research and evidence-based practices, and written in the warm, funny, instantly relatable tone of a parent who’s been there, the book guides even the most harried parents toward a new way of engaging with their children. Readers will come away feeling less ashamed and more empowered to get their sh*t together, instead of losing it.