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Raising
a Thinking Preteen
(Book Review, by Mia Cronan)
by Myrna B. Shure, Ph.D.
ISBN 0-8050-5991-1
The "I Can Problem
Solve" program for 8- to 12-year-olds
| What does the title suggest to
you? It told me that I was going to read a book about
teaching my children to be compassionate, or
"thoughtful." Inasmuch as that may be a pleasant
byproduct of Dr. Shure's program for parents and youngsters, her
main focus is to help us raise kids who can responsibly
problem-solve, kids who are properly informed and able to make
sound decisions.
Today our preteens face conflict
and serious moral decisions
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| much earlier in life
than we did, as a rule. Given that, we all need to be
prepared to make good decisions. Dr. Shure's book does
this through identifying the different styles of parenting,
teaching how to actively listen to others, helping us find
alternative solutions to problems, and preventing typical
"teen" problems, such as drug abuse, violence, and
pregnancy. The ICPS approach (I Can Problem-Solve) teaches
parents to teach children how to think for themselves at an
early age so that they methods grow and stay with them
into their teen years and beyond. ICPS is designed to help
8- to 12-year-olds, as these years are so formative.
Learning this approach can also teach parents how to identify
areas in which they can improve their relationships.
I really like this book because
of the methods that Dr. Shure suggests for effective
conversation, which oftentimes is a lost art. She shows us
how to have dialogues with our children, rather than
monologues. Dr. Shure focuses on teaching how to listen
actively and acknowledge our kids' feelings. We learn how
to pull the answers to solutions out of our kids through
thoughtful conversation.
I highly recommend this book if
you're a parent who wants a better understanding of how
preteens' thought processes work and how to help them form
decision-making skills.
For more information on
purchasing Raising
a Thinking Preteen, visit Amazon.com.
To visit Dr. Myrna B. Shure's web
site, go to ThinkingPreteen.com.
For other book reviews, visit
Main Street Mom's Book Review
Directory. |
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