[.ca] The Happiest Toddler on the Block: The New Way to Stop ... (ISBN 0553802569)

No more dreading temper tantrums:
After having so much success with the Happiest Baby on the Block calming techniques, I could not wait to watch The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp,M.D. My 22 month old grandson began to scream when I told him it was time to go inside. I spoke "toddlerese" with much expression as suggested by Dr. Karp. I said, " No No No" you do not want to go inside. He looked at me very surprised. I said, "No No No" you do not want to go inside. He looked at me again with his mouth wide open. I said again, "No No No you do not want to go inside, but we must take sister to potty." ---------he came with me without protest. In the past he would have continued screaming for about 5 minutes and I would have picked him up kicking and screaming. Now I can't wait to read the book The Happiest Toddler on the Block Book to get more helpful suggestions for the children in my family and in my practice. Phyllis Meer,RN, BSN,CPNP and proud grandmother of 4.

Whoa, It Actually Works!:
My son is 23 months old and definitely in the Terrible Two's stage. I felt helpless, lost and had no control of the situation whenever my son would snap into his "I want it my way" mode, sprawling on the floor. I truly had no idea how to calm my boy down. It was very frustrating. I can be very snap-y at times, but I did not want to be that way with my son. After all, he is just a toddler. I happened to read a snippet about Dr. Karp's book in The New York Times' Science Times section. When I read about his concept that toddlers are basically Neanderthals, I thought he was definitely onto something (I always referred to my son as Bam-Bam from The Flintstones!). With my interest piqued enough, I ordered the book from Amazon. After a couple of days, I tried Dr. Karp's Prehistoric Parenting method. I was shocked when after a couple of times repeating "You want mommy. You REAALLLY WANT MOMMY!!", my son stopped his tantrum; looked at me; and simply said, "Sorry!" It was like a revelation. I love that you don't need to read every chapter in its entirety. When stuff about kids older than 3 years old came up, I went straight to the next chapter, since my son is almost 2. My only criticism is that a lot of ideas are repeated over to a fault. But I could live with that. Dr. Karp is just trying to reiterate his messages. Overall, I give this a 5 star rating for the sheer fact that the Dr. Karp's method of Prehistoric Parenting and speaking Toddler-ese really does work! Do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't be sorry. In fact, you'll be relieved!

Great concept but could have been reduced to a booklet:
Let me first say that I'm a big fan of Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block book. He had a theory (recreating the womb) and explained several ways to carry it out. In this book, he has a theory that your child needs to feel understood and you should let them know you understand them by repeating back to them what they just told you, then empathizing. In their words, at their level. ("The Fast Food Rule") That's ALL. The book is full of examples and uses a caveman analogy to get its point across, but basically the message reiterated is the same or a variation on the Fast Food Rule. The video that accompanies this book is only 37 minutes long! The "Happiest Baby, INC." trademark on the back says it all, I suppose. The main goal here seems to have been to turn out a sequel and fluff it up as much as possible to generate maximum profit.

A useful book:
My husband and I have found this book to present a pretty realistic view of life with a toddler. The concept of viewing one's child as a prehistoric being is a useful reminder that they are not small adults. Dr. Karp presents a lot of different techniques for dealing with daily situations. We've found the gossiping method to be very helpful with our daughter. We had less success with the toddlerese method of communication he suggests. Like anything else we've had to adjust the ideas presented to match our style and our daughter's. We would recommend this book to first time parents or parents having a very stressful time with their toddlers. The methods we've learned from reading this has reduced our stress and increased the fun factor in raising our daughter.

Dr. Karp does it again!!:
Unlike his "The Happiest Baby on the Block" book, there is no "short cut" page to turn to in this book - because dealing with toddlers is not the same as turning on a calming reflex in an infant... So this is a book you actually have to read all the way through. Dr. Karp saved our sanity and kept our daughter from "colic" with his first book - and this one came out JUST in time for us to start learning how to deal with her toddler behavior. At one and a half - we don't have the screaming tantrums or battles all of my mommy-friends keep complaining about. My daughter and I "communicate" thanks to Dr. K's wonderful book... Definitely worth the read!!!