Raising a Thinking Child by Myrna B. Shure

Raising a Thinking Child Reviews

• 
  PhilorChelsy

  Teaching HOW to think not WHAT
  For Child-Child Problems:
  what happened
  what's the matter
  how does _____feel?
  How do you feel
  what happened when you did that
  how did tha tmake you feel
  can you think of a difference way to solve this probelmt (so you both won't be anger, he won't hit you, etc)
  Is that a good idea or not a good idea?
  good idea: go ahead and try that
  not good idea: oh, you'll have to think of something different.
  
  For Parent-Child:
  Can I talk to you AND to ___ at the SAME time?
  Is this GOOD TIME to tlak to me
  can you think of a GOOD TIME to talk to me
  Is that a GOOD PLACE to, draw, stand, leave food, etc
  Can you think of a GOOD PLACE to ___
  How do you think I feel when you don't listen, throw food, interrupt me
  Can you think of something DIFFERENT to do NOW until (you can paint, I can help, etc)
  
  What MIGHT happen IF...
  Do we feel the SAME way about this problem or a DIFFERENT way
  How can you tell how someone is feeling?
  We see, with our eyes their face
  we HEAR them angry, or laugh, etc
  We can ASK them
  (games with pics and hold something in front of your face and ask them how you feel in happy/mad/sad sounding voice)
  
  Words to role play and play question games:
  IS/IS NOT
  AND/OR
  SOME/ALL
  BEFORE/AFTER
  NOW/LATER
  SAME/DIFFERENT
  GOOD TIME/NOT A GOOD TIME
  IF/THEN
  MIGHT/MAYBE
  WHY/BECAUSE
  FAIR/NOT FAIR
• 
  Elliotte Bagg

  The general practice taught in this book is to teach children to make decisions for themselves using critical thinking. I read this book because my son is having difficulty with such decision making and it immediately added a valuable tool to my parenting abilities; to get my son to think and make decisions rather than feeling like it was being force fed to him by me, and naturally resisting. This is a great tool that has really helped turn my parenting style around to one that gets him to do all the major work while helping him gain the confidence needed to face the world.
  
  The book itself gets this point across quite quickly, and gives a HUGE amount of exercises to play through with kids. Great for helping with kids, but quickly turns into very dry reading. Great for coming back and referencing when the need arises, but for me, very hard to read all the way through without falling asleep.
• 
  Ken

  This was a helpful book that reminded me of the reason I wanted children. This book reminded my of the way I thought I would be as a parent. Then it showed me (I'll put my tongue in my cheek here) where I went wrong.
  
  Although I am not a big fan of picking out keywords (I think it has killed at least 2 generations of readers) I do like the games that Myrna Shure has put together to help parents assist their children in problem solving. Everyone loves games of all sorts, and these word games are great no matter what the situation or the location. I have had instant success in getting my child to think through a problem after trying some of these word games. The hidden secret here is to stop doing the thinking for your child and let them come up with solutions on their own. The methods have worked rather well for me so far.
• 
  Tracy

  This book not only helps parents to train their kids to develop problem-solving skills at an early age, but it is also a book that encourages parents to think how to better interact with their children. Tons of conversation examples and activity materials. It's a book that can be kept at hand and refer to whenever needed.
• 
  Heidi Thorsen

  This book presents a way to teach kids how to solve their own problems. The main focus is on teaching them some key vocabulary words and getting them used to using them. To reinforce the meanings of the words, and how to use them for problem-solving, the author shares many examples of dialogues and games using the set of words.
  
  I haven't tried it with my own kids in the rigorous way she's laid out in the book, but I've introduced the words more casually. So far, it actually has helped the kids solve their own problems, but the process takes MUCH longer than if I just solve their problems. But the point is to teach them the steps to solving their own problems, so the parent won't have to step in all the time. This system is very much about the long-term process and benefits, not a quick-fix solution.
• 
  Jen

  As soon as I started to read this, I recognized that I actually read it long ago, when my firstborn was too young to quite be a "thinking child." This is the 'I Can Problem Solve" book that lays out a pretty simple method for how to use everyday games and conversation to coach children through social and behavioral questions.
  
  My only complaint - I checked this out of the library, and should probably have made a copy of the "cheat sheets" at the back of the book before returning it. It's not exciting reading, but I think the ideas are sound. I found myself less likely to feed the answers and more likely to coach and question my kids while I was reading it.
• 
  Jennifer

  A very informative book. As the mother of a 2 1/2 year old girl, I now see the value of this book. Conflict resolution is a very important concept to teach to a young child, it wards off many tantrums! I like this book and am keeping it on my reference shelf!
  
  
  ORIGINAL POST: Very interesting so far. I know, I am the #1 condemner of reading parenting books--I can't stand the idea of "parenting by the numbers", I like a more free-style method. But I read the back of this book and wanted to know more. Maybe it will change my ideas!
• 
  Mindy

  This book focuses on teaching kids problems solving techniques, with an emphasis on vocabulary. The idea is that teaching kids certain words will help them to reason on their problems (esp. emotional) on their own. Lots of example scripts. Works well with the emotion coach ideas in Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child.
• 
  Kerri

  Very practical book with some good parenting strategies for the itty-bitties. It did get a bit redundant...perhaps there is a such thing as too many case-studies? Also it seems like you would have to start the concepts btwn ages 3-7, otherwise you've lost your audience I think.
• 
  Emily

  Loved the idea of helping kids consider results, and giving them tools to evaluate their consequences. But honestly, the book dragged on and on with the same formula put to different colors. I skimmed the last half of the book and was glad to put it away.
• 
  Olivia Reid

  Really a great book a reference guide to help our kids with critical thinking skills. I love it. It can turn unsure parenting styles into a well-thought out, researched approach to what you are doing and why you are doing it.
• 
  Maegan morrow

  one of my doctors loaned it to me, and i learned a lot that i will use to help my child with critical thinking and socialization
• 
  Kimberly

  We tried some of these methods with our son and they have helped us a lot. It's worth the read if you have a child with ADHD or ADD. The methods are useful for all children though.
• 
  Sanfordgrant

  Seems like common sense, but then again some people dont have any.
• 
  Sarah

  Interesting Read. This was a fast read. It has many examples of how to implement the I Can Problem Solve techniques with children.