June 1, 2003
Many parenting authors assume that their readers have large amounts of time to devote to reading long, academic works describing the intricacies of child development. These two authors don't make that mistake. Berkenkamp, a mother of four, and Atkins, a child psychiatrist at Dartmouth, previously collaborated on the earlier entries in the award-winning "Go Parents!" series, Teaching Your Children Good Manners and Talking to Your Kids About Sex. Here, they present short, focused, and easy-to-finish-while-waiting-in-the-pediatrician's-office chapters on common sources of friction in families with children (aged preschooler to adolescent). Including sections on such thorny problems as dealing with public tantrums, sibling rivalry, picky eaters, allowances, and assorted infractions of parental rules, this book is indeed a "child psychology/family therapy MASH unit," dispensing accessible, sensible, and humorous guidance for busy parents. Recommended especially for public libraries.-Kay Hogan Smith, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib., Lister Hill
Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.