How to Grow a Grown-Up

By Heather Shumaker
StraightTalk_FINAL

New book from Vermont author Vicki Hoefle!

"Bold, clear and lifesaving. Vicki Hoefle is in the business of helping parents grow great grown-ups." That's the cover quote on Vicki's new book The Straight Talk on Parenting: A No-Nonsense Approach to How to Grow a Grown-Up.

2015 is turning into the year when all my favorite parenting authors are writing sequels. Vicki's first book, Duct Tape Parenting, came out the same summer my first book It's OK Not to Share did. Readers are clamoring for more.

And they should. Vicki understands that the struggles we face every day - morning out-the-door rush, meals, bedtime, backtalk, sibling squabbles, messy rooms and more - are all fundamentally caused by 1) fractured relationships, or 2) a child's quest for independence that gets thwarted by parents and lack of training, or 3) both.

She's in it for the long-haul. Behavior struggles that seem to many parents as daily headaches, Vicki sees as chances for developing lifelong character traits, independence and healthy relationship models. Lasting change takes time and means making a switch to intentional parenting. If this sounds daunting, it shouldn't. Vicki's method is straight-forward and far easier than a lifetime of parent-child struggles.

The strength of her book lies in the many examples and how the approach works for all ages.  Whether you have a toddler or a teenager, this book can guide you through making a change. She looks at teens on the phone past midnight with the same lens as toddlers not getting ready in the morning. No, the solutions are not identical, and the same issue would be resolved differently by different families, but the process is the same. It starts with examining your own parenting behavior. Read enough of these examples and you will be saying - wow - I didn't know life could be any other way. It's like having Vicki in the room with you.

I love this book . It gives practical, yet individual help, for every family. And that quote on the cover? It's what I told Vicki when I read the advanced copy.

Want to read Vicki Hoefle's new book? Add a comment to enter the Straight Talk on Parenting book Give-Away!

vicki book smallWhat's your biggest daily parenting struggle? What behavior would you love to transform? Add a comment and your name will be entered in the Book Give-Away.  Give-Away ended Monday, June 1 at 12 noon ET. Winning name was chosen by a random number generator.

 

10 responses to “How to Grow a Grown-Up”

  1. Amy Sue says:

    My biggest parenting struggle is with our 8 & 10 year olds. They argue about screen time limits, and are constantly bickering with each other. It's exhausting!

  2. Jenifer says:

    This sounds great! My girls are now 2 and nearly 5. They crave independence, and I try to give it to them, but would love to learn more about how to give them the skills they need!

    • Heather Shumaker says:

      Jenifer - Congrats! You're the winner of the book. Enjoy the wonderful journey ahead of giving more independence to your children. Best wishes, Heather

  3. Irene says:

    I would love to parent my son without yelling or bribing him!

  4. Swen says:

    Our greatest struggle is with our 4 year old daughter, being very strong-headed, testing our limits and her owns every day and all the time. When we as parents are sleep deprived from our younger one, it gets exhausting.

  5. Linda says:

    Sounds excellent!! We have 2.5 yr old triplets. Feels like we're in the throws of it all right now and we've only just begun!

  6. Cari Noga says:

    I have a 9 y.o. son with special needs and a 6 year old typical daughter. Exhausted trying to be fair to both. Also worried my special needs son is not ever going to be able to leave home. I definitely need help growing 2 grownups.

  7. Alyson S says:

    I would love to win this book! I struggle so much with losing my patience

  8. Dawn Sparks says:

    I have a 5 and 3 year old. Our current biggest problem is helping them deal with anger and disappointment in appopriate ways. It's pointing out my issues in dealing with my own big emotions!

  9. Jose says:

    their children were well rueodnd with doing homework and other things, that's great for you; however, did your child honestly get the family time he/she craved?? Also, she said she didn't agree with homework for children 11 and under. Therefore, from the 7th grade & up your child would have homework & this should be good enough because there is more to learn and less time per class to learn it but should they really have between 2 & 3 hours worth of homework?? Ok I'm finished, but kudos and I'm glad you take a stand every year for your children.21

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Heather
Shumaker
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