redhead1's Full Review: Lisa Whelchel - Creative Correction: Extraordinary...
You knew her as Blair Warner, the snobby prep school girl from the 80's sitcom The Facts of Life. Well, you might also know her as a Mouseketeer from the 70's!
Yup, Lisa Whelchel has grown up and is a pastor's wife, homeschooling mother of three, and author. And while your first thought might be, "Oh great, a book from a child celebrity," she's actually quite good. Lisa has a very enjoyable, almost jocular, writing style, and shares a lot of anecdotes, good and bad, about her own family.
Published by Focus on the Family, the book is a scripture-based guide to "correcting" children. Chapters include:
1. The Facts of My Life
2. Learning From the Ultimate Parent
3. The Heart of Obedience
4. Seeing the Big Picture
5. Creative Correction
6. Let's Talk about Child Rearing
7. WWIII: The Sibling Conflict
8. God's Topsy-Turvy Truths
9. Grace in Failure
10. That's a Great Ideal!
Almost every chapter ends with a "Toolbox" section of a variety of ideas and/or relevant scripture. Certainly this is interesting and gives you a lot to choose from, and I could picture a lot of people finding it helpful. But personally, most of these suggestions were definitely NOT my style. For example:
1. Serve five brussel sprouts to your picky eaters. Tell them they have to eat them all in ten minutes, or else they will also have to eat eight more.
2. If your child's room is "too messy to look at," turn off the circuit breaker until it improves.
3. If your child has an "outburst," have them stick out their tongue and hold it between their fingers.
4. If your child slams a door, make them them calmly open and shut it 100 times in a row.
5. Every time your child is kind, obedient, etc, put a sticker on a chart. When they have 20 stickers, let them pick a treat out of a box of dime-store toys.
6. For "giving attitude," make them drink a cup of bitter-tasting health food juice.
"So what's wrong with those?" you might be thinking. Well, nothing, really (although perhaps some people might find
them to be unusually cruel). As both a parent and teacher, they are just a bit too contrived for my tastes.
In the last chapter, Lisa Whelchel describes an entire day in her family's life exactly as it happened. I enjoyed this section because number one, I'm nosy, and number two, I appreciate her candor. But just reading about that day sounded so exhausting. I went back later and counted at least nine total "corrections" (or mild punishments): Getting assigned an extra chore, losing the privilege to talk during a meal, having to go in the bathroom for five minutes and think of something nice to say. I know my oldest child is only two, but still ... it seems like a bit much to have to spend your days doling out so many "corrections." When I worked in the public schools and taught nearly 100 kids a day, I didn't even do that.
It may sound like I disliked this book, but I really didn't. Lisa is very likable and has a nice way of being inspiring while not coming across as a SuperMom. It's fun to read about her and her kids, and the book is full of lots of ideas. Just be aware that you may dislike a lot of them. Then again, you may love them!
For more information about this book and whether you would like Lisa Whelchel's ideas, check out http://www.LisaWhelchel.com
Drawing from her own family s experiences and from interaction with other parents, Whelchel offers creative solutions for parents desperate for new, p...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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