Raising Good Kids

by Louise Bates Ames

Describes the development of children, suggests disciplinary techniques for each age, and covers discipline in preschool and day care

Genres: Parenting

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Louise Bates Ames was an American psychologist specializing in child development.[1] Ames was known as a pioneer of child development studies, introducing the theory of child development stages to popular discourse. Ames authored numerous internationally renowned books on the stages of child development, hosted a television show on child development, and co-founded the Gesell Institute of Child Development in New Haven, CT.

Ames's work found that children go through clear, discrete developmental phases based on age. She demonstrated that various age groups feature unique behavioral patterns, to be considered by parents and doctors in monitoring children's development. Perhaps the best-known legacy of her work was the coining of the term "Terrible Twos," to describe the rigid, conflict-laden behavioral patterns of two-year-olds.

Reviews

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book off the free shelf at the library and am always looking for ways to be a better parent to my two children. Even though this book is almost 20 years old it is still a great book on parenting and would recommend it to other parents. I must say I was pleased to read that although I am far from a perfect parent (doubt they even exist!!!) I feel I am on the right track after reading this book. The descriptions of the typical 5 and 7 year old seemed to be pretty realistic in describing my two kiddos. I was also glad to read that bed-wetting is still normal at 5 - 6 years of age - hope my 5 year old outgrows this soon! I also liked the advice on sibling fighting - I guess I need to ignore more of the "small stuff" and only intervene when hitting occurs or something might get broken - hard to do when they are driving me crazy! Good positive parenting book!

[Beth A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ames is an advocate of gentle, compassionate parenting, keeping in mind age related characteristics and abilities, and achieving compliance with young children using distraction. Reading this book is a good reminder that children do not intend to be naughty and are many times working their way through developmental stages or challenges.

The descriptions of age related behavior were brief in comparison to her other books like Your Two-Year-Old Terrible or Tender, and in some places the wording was exactly the same.

Short and easy to read this won't be a waste of your time, but also don't expect any new, brilliant, magic answers either.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this looks a bit dated, I really appreciated the concise format and brief overview of the various developmental stages and recommended discipline tools for each. A quick read - I was able to skim the relevant parts in less than 30 minutes - that was definitely worth the $2 I paid for my used copy.