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Parenting From Your Heart: Sharing the Gifts of Compassion, Connection, and Choice
Parenting that Promotes Peace—Parents everywhere want to connect compassionately with their children, to show them love and offer guidance even in difficult moments. In this packed and practical booklet, Inbal Kashtan describes how the practicing the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) process can transform parenting to promote peace for generations to come.
Whether you're parenting a teenager or an infant, the parenting help and guidance you'll find in this booklet will transform your challenges and conflicts into opportunities to parent from your heart. Find NVC-based parenting tips and ten practical exercises to foster trust and improve cooperation even in the most trying circumstances. Learn how to make connection your top priority, share power in your family and inspire open dialogue that promotes mutual understanding.
Whether you're parenting a teenager or an infant, the parenting help and guidance you'll find in this booklet will transform your challenges and conflicts into opportunities to parent from your heart. Find NVC-based parenting tips and ten practical exercises to foster trust and improve cooperation even in the most trying circumstances. Learn how to make connection your top priority, share power in your family and inspire open dialogue that promotes mutual understanding.
48 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 10, 2018
A concise little book containing gems I wish I'd known 30 years ago.
January 18, 2024
excelente livreto sobre CNV voltado à parentalidade e às relações entre crianças e pessoas adultas. ainda assim, os exercícios e caminhos propostos são valiosos para nutrir quaisquer vínculos com compaixão.
May 21, 2025
Parenting from Your Heart by Inbal Kashtan
Rating: 3/5
Parenting from Your Heart offers some insightful takeaways grounded in the principles of Nonviolent Communication. I especially appreciated the emphasis on shifting from judgment to observation, and the idea of moving away from praise or criticism in favor of empathetic engagement. These concepts encourage a deeper connection between parent and child and promote emotional awareness.
However, some suggestions in the book didn’t resonate with me...particularly those that involve negotiating everyday decisions with young children, such as whether to share a slide at the playground or visit their grandparents. While I support the core values of respect and empathy in parenting, I believe young children still need firm boundaries and clear guidance to feel secure and develop appropriate behavior.
Overall, the philosophy behind this book is thoughtful and valuable, but I think its approaches are more suitable for older children, such as preteens or teenagers, who have a stronger capacity to understand and articulate their emotions and needs.
Rating: 3/5
Parenting from Your Heart offers some insightful takeaways grounded in the principles of Nonviolent Communication. I especially appreciated the emphasis on shifting from judgment to observation, and the idea of moving away from praise or criticism in favor of empathetic engagement. These concepts encourage a deeper connection between parent and child and promote emotional awareness.
However, some suggestions in the book didn’t resonate with me...particularly those that involve negotiating everyday decisions with young children, such as whether to share a slide at the playground or visit their grandparents. While I support the core values of respect and empathy in parenting, I believe young children still need firm boundaries and clear guidance to feel secure and develop appropriate behavior.
Overall, the philosophy behind this book is thoughtful and valuable, but I think its approaches are more suitable for older children, such as preteens or teenagers, who have a stronger capacity to understand and articulate their emotions and needs.
February 27, 2018
I love the book, it tackled so many challenges i have been facing as a mother, i truly believe the NVC method can help us change and become better for our selves, families and the world. But i couldn’t even dare to accept the part in which Inbal talked about peace in the world and mentioned the example of Palestinians and Israelis, being a Palestinian myself i see things way differently than it was expressed in the conversation the writer had with her son, it wasn’t nearly like that in real life “People fighting over the same land, each one wanting a piece of it” because Palestine was occupied by the Israelis and frankly speaking i dont see how NVC could work in such situation, when someone take over your land, kicks you out of your home, kills your family and children, threats your very existence!!!! How can you act with empathy towards that?
August 12, 2018
Immensely helpful.
July 30, 2020
A quick and digestible booklet about nonviolent communication in parenting. I think it's useful to get an idea if NVC will work for you and your family and to refer back to quickly as needed.
May 12, 2021
A good introduction to Nonviolent communication.
May 30, 2025
Short and beautiful book on supporting children's growth.
August 20, 2009
I am all for increasing communication and understanding between myself and my kids, so I thought I'd check this book out. Ugh! This is fine if you want badly socialized kids who don't know how to function in society. But if you want your kids to be able to go to school (and understand that sometimes the answer is just "no,"), stay far away from the advice in this book.
The basic premise here is that the focus should be getting your child's needs met, and in any conflict the first objective is to discuss with your child the best way to accomplish this. This is fine for certain kinds of disputes, but the ones exemplified in this book are just insane. If your kid is being a bully at the park and refusing to let the other kids use the slide, you do not engage in a 10 minute dialogue about her need to monopolize the play equipment vs the needs of the other children. You explain that the equipment is there for everyone, and if she is unwilling to play by the rules of the park, you have to leave. If your kid is unwilling to sit down and eat the dinner you made, you don't offer to make a new dinner or allow the child to wander around the house with his food. Can you imagine how this would work with multiple children?
Furthermore, the style of dialogue the author advocates is far beyond the intellectual grasp of2 and 3 year old kids, who cannot possibly participate in an extended dialogue about why they should give their friend back the toy they have snatched.
The fact is, in life, you don't always get your needs (and some of the things described here are not "needs" by any stretch) met before everyone elses. Kids who are raised according to this philosophy are going to have a heck of a time adjusting to a world with actual rules and expected codes of behavior.
I consider myself to be a fairly liberal, "crunchy" parent. But if every conflict with your child turns into a gigantic negotiation, your family is not going to be able to function. You might get away with it for a while if you have one child who is not in school, but add additional children and this will just turn into chaos.
The basic premise here is that the focus should be getting your child's needs met, and in any conflict the first objective is to discuss with your child the best way to accomplish this. This is fine for certain kinds of disputes, but the ones exemplified in this book are just insane. If your kid is being a bully at the park and refusing to let the other kids use the slide, you do not engage in a 10 minute dialogue about her need to monopolize the play equipment vs the needs of the other children. You explain that the equipment is there for everyone, and if she is unwilling to play by the rules of the park, you have to leave. If your kid is unwilling to sit down and eat the dinner you made, you don't offer to make a new dinner or allow the child to wander around the house with his food. Can you imagine how this would work with multiple children?
Furthermore, the style of dialogue the author advocates is far beyond the intellectual grasp of2 and 3 year old kids, who cannot possibly participate in an extended dialogue about why they should give their friend back the toy they have snatched.
The fact is, in life, you don't always get your needs (and some of the things described here are not "needs" by any stretch) met before everyone elses. Kids who are raised according to this philosophy are going to have a heck of a time adjusting to a world with actual rules and expected codes of behavior.
I consider myself to be a fairly liberal, "crunchy" parent. But if every conflict with your child turns into a gigantic negotiation, your family is not going to be able to function. You might get away with it for a while if you have one child who is not in school, but add additional children and this will just turn into chaos.
October 11, 2007
This book describes ways to use non-violent communication as a parent. Small and easy to read, but the NVC steps definately take some practice. Well worth it.
January 7, 2010
You love your kids! So let your heart do the parenting for awhile!
September 7, 2013
For several years, I have been doing parenting workshop in NVC. I have been making this book a part of the workshops and giving free copies to participants.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews