The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children
- ISBN13: 9780061906190
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
What?s an explosive child? A child who responds to routine problems with extreme frustration-crying, screaming, swearing, kicking, hitting, biting, spitting, destroying property, and worse. A child whose frequent, severe outbursts leave his or her parents feeling frustrated, scared, worried, and desperate for help. Most of these parents have tried everything-reasoning, explaining, punishing, sticker charts, therapy, medication-but to no avail. They can?t figure … More >>
I absolutely hate parenting books like this. I’m a kid and I’m NOT explosive, but my little brother tends to be kind of stubborn. However, how insulting is that to find your parent reading “The Explosive Child?” I understand her reading a parenting book, but come on, the title totally gives away what your parent thinks you are. It’s just a book filled with huge labels and it says so on the front cover. Now, I’m not saying I’ve read it, but seriously, just read it in the library. Don’t bring it home–unless insulting your child horribly is your plan of action.
Consider yourself warned.
Rating: 1 / 5
Oh boy…my child was a frightmare, until Dr Greene saved my son and my marraige. He used to throw fits until the cows came home (this being literal, since we do live on a farm). He would scream at us, kick us, and swear at us for no apparent reason. Little did i realize that my child’s explosiveness could actually be treated simply by giving him anything and everything he wants. I learned that ice cream and pizza both have nutrients, and that no matter how much i liked to pretend that there was, there is no set betime. Now my child eats what he wants when he wants, and goes to sleep when he wants. Granted he has gained 20 pounds and constantly challenges me and my wife to meet his every demand, but he is no longer explosive! The fits are gone, the yelling is gone, and the swearing is almost gone. Thank you Dr. Greene, you are a triumph!
Rating: 5 / 5
I can see why this book appeals to parents–it assuages guilt about poor parenting that has allowed children to be in charge. The main idea of this book is that children who misbehave and disrespect their parents “can’t help it.”
The author implies that children who throw tantrums, swear, and act inappropriately have some kind of cognitive dysfunction, organic in nature although never clearly explained in medical terms. Parents are then advised to develop strategies to avoid situations that may upset the child and lead to inappropriate, disrespectful behavior.
Yes, Pro-active avoidance-of-conflict parenting strategies may solve some short term problems by overlooking blatant disrespect, selfishness, and abuse toward parents/peers. If parents send the message that such behavior is excusable and accomodate demands, then logically the tantrums will decrease. This book rationalizes parents’ giving in to demands for fear of a “meltdown.”
My main objection to the author’s hypothesis is the absence of any responsibility on the child’s part to try to behave and act more appropriately. In the long run, children who receive no consequences for offensive, disrespectful, rude, selfish behavior will lack the ability to function as responsible members of society.
A parent’s main responsibility is to help children become responsible, productive adults. Employers, universities, and law enforcement will not tolerate “explosive” behavior and will provide the consequences parents have neglected to give. In no setting will profanity and verbal abuse be viewed as “mental debris.” In no setting will an authority figure accomodate an individual in order to avoid frustration. What parents must do–from the very beginning–is teach children that life is full of frustrating circumstances, and that hurting others with words or fists is unacceptable for any reason.
I would recommend “The Defiant Child” by Douglas Riley as a much more realistic, practical approach to redirect oppositional behavior without neglecting to provide any consequences for inappropriate behavior.
Parents who live in fear of their children’s tantrums/ disrespectful behavior and just want it to stop now may see this book as their answer. However, they also may end up visiting their older or adult child in prison/jail, where the much-needed consequences for offensive behavior will be provided.
Rating: 1 / 5
Frustrated by my son’s age-inappropriate temper tantrums, I desperately searched for solutions. [He'd be set off by little things like making a mistake coloring and would rage for 1/2 hour or more ... still at age 6! Maybe this is understandable for a 2 year old, but there was something wrong here...] I approached it psychologically, certain that I somehow wasn’t handling him properly. However, he just seemed out of control. No matter how I approached his anger, I couldn’t make any significant changes. I purchased this book, but it didn’t help me much, as I’d already tried so many behavioral approaches. I finally researched the Feingold Program (you can Google it) after observing that his biggest tantrums came immediately after eating foods with red food coloring. The Feingold Program primarily removes artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from children’s food and environment (yes, even those hand-stamps after gym class can have an effect!), and it’s been around since the ’70s. A family friend used it successfully for her 2 boys during that time, so I knew at least one success story. I bought the materials and dove in. Guess what — no more tantrums! My boy is a changed person, and I couldn’t be happier. Please give this diet a try — you may be amazed! It’s a bit more work for me when shopping or cooking, but my life is so much easier in every other way because I’m not dealing with a raging kid all the time. He and his little sister (who’s 3 and is also on the diet now; she doesn’t seem as sensitive as he is, but she definitely benefits also) now play nicely most of the time, freeing up hours of my day. I truly believe that the question is NOT “Will this help my child?” … the question is “How much will this help my child?”
Rating: 2 / 5
I found that the concepts in this book, while useful, were repeated over and over and over and over. I was turned off by this as were the clients i asked to read it.
Rating: 2 / 5