1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents; Effective Discipline for Children 2-12
by Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D. and Chris Webb, M.S., M.A.
Published by ParentMagic, Inc.
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Reviewed by Jamie Driggers
The Bible tells us to “Train up a child in the way he should go…” but many of us are at a loss as to how we should do it. We know that “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,” but we often wonder if it is so tightly bound, that we’ll never see its removal. The Bible is full of wonderful godly parenting wisdom, but sometimes a practical how-to that uses this wisdom would be a God-send. Enter 1-2-3 Magic (and for sanity’s sake, let’s forget that we are using the word “magic” in conjunction with Biblical parenting—they are being figurative).
1-2-3 Magic for Christian Parents works in three straightforward steps: 1) Controlling obnoxious behavior. 2) Encouraging good behavior. 3) Strengthening your relationship. But how do you do this? By using the count method to control “stop” behaviors (Stop whining!), and strategies for encouraging good, or “start,” behavior (Start cleaning up!) you will get your child to a point where you enjoy spending time with them, thus build the relationship.
I would say the power of this book is in controlling the stop behaviors. What do you do about whining? In and of itself, it isn’t really a punishable offense. You can tell a child to stop whining until you are blue in the face but they keep at it. Shoot, it works! But with the count method (used correctly), you can put a damper on it pretty quickly. My kids latched right on to the count for those stop behaviors. Also, there is a great abundance of applicable scripture that you may want to copy down and quote to your kids daily (or to yourself!).
As in most parenting books, there are about three chapters that tell you why the system will work before they describe the method, and there are points I disagree with, but overall 1-2-3 Magic seems to work.
Armchair Interviews says: A new way to raise better children.
Author’s Web site: http://www.ParentMagic.com