With as many kids as I have, and all the reading I do on the topic, you might think I’m somewhat of an expert on raising kids. Yes, I generally know how to keep them alive, clothed, fed, and sheltered, and I keep the family more or less afloat. But one thing that has surprised me the most about parenting is how many skills are not transferrable from one kid to the next. If they were, we’d only need one parenting book to teach us everything we need to know, instead of the hundreds that are out there.

But over the past couple of years, five different people have shifted how I think about this: Malcolm Gladwell, in his podcast, Revisionist History; Mary Reckmeyer, in the book Strengths-Based Parenting; Ross W. Greene, in his book, The Explosive Child; Brittney Smart, in her book, The Five-Minute Time In; and my family’s own behavioral coach, Karly Allen.

Links:

Full Text of this episode at Howshemoms.com

Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Revisionist History Season 4 (Episodes 6, 7, 8)

Strengths-Based Parenting

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

The Explosive Child

The Five-Minute Time In

Monster-Free Mothering