Raising the Spirited Child - how is it?

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 20 2006 Posts: 5705

How is this book? Practical? Interesting/boring reading? How are other books by the author, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka?

I just looked for this book at the library and it is booked until April - I hope that is a good sign and means that it is helpful!
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Diamond Member Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 4037

I think it's a good book, and it offers a lot of help and advice!

Diamond Member Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 4037

I might also add that it explains the reasons behind "spirited behavior," and that is very helpful.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 22 2004 Posts: 9754

This book is on my list of top ten books that changed my life. I was/am "spirited" and I have two "spirited" kids and I finally understand myself in ways I never did before and understand my kids too. Needless to say, I highly recommend it.
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Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18310

I highly recommend it. If nothing else, it at least helps you understand your child so you can start to accept some of the personality traits as not all that negative...and it gives practical suggestions to. I actually own the book if anyone near me ever wants to borrow it.
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Gold Member Joined: Jun 20 2004 Posts: 1264

Thanks for the recomadation. Just reserved it from my local library. Anyone have any other good simular book reccomadations?

I googled spirited- this is the first thing that came up:

Quote:
Many parents would rather refer to their child as "spirited" rather than ADD or ADHD, which is fine. The only problem that I have with this is the fact that many children are not being diagnosed with their psychological or medical problems. Why is this? Well, they pick up a book on Amazon or at Borders and they think they know it all. The book says that my child is just energetic and spirited. You can almost hear these parents sigh in relief, put the book down to gather dust, and move on to other matters. This worries me.

spirited/add is described as someone that is impulsive, uncontrollably hyperactive, forgetful, indecisive, overly sensitive to stimuli, and prone to behavioral and personality abnormalities,

part of a larger arcticle:

http://www.lessontutor.com/kw9.html

if this is the case then you still need to have the child evaluated.

Platinum Member Joined: Sep 22 2004 Posts: 9754

great Cassandra. I'll iy'h get this book!

I read this book a few months ago and it was very helpful. no, it didnt become the bible in my house, just to understand my son a little better. like, when im taking his turtleneck off... hes so sensitvie to material on his face, and gets really annoyed, how he is impulsive , but can also play legos for an hour. just certain sensitivities that he has- this book helped. I would recommend it to anyone
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Platinum Member Joined: Aug 20 2006 Posts: 5705

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18310

I agree with Smiley.

I do NOT believe my son has ADHD. I know what it is. I have a family member who had a very severe case of it. My son is incredibly focused and can spend quite a bit of time watching or doing complex tasks (by 2 he could spend a good 15 minutes sitting stringing cheerios on a string). He's very busy, very determined, slow to accept change...but these traits are not in and of themselves bad or indicative of a medical problem. ADHD is more than symptoms; it's looking at the whole picture. I could diagnose myself with ADHD by reading a newspaper article which listed symptoms, and honestly, I probably don't have it Wink

So, no, this book doesn't take place over real medical information. But then again, not everyone needs to be diagnosed with ADHD because of some symptoms. This book is understanding your child's personality. And that's what it's aimed for.

For example, my son does not do well in large crowds. He needs time to adjust to many people and has a meltdown if someone tries to speak to him when he's still adapting to the situation. This book shows me this is normal and nothing to worry about because it's part of his personality. Over time, we are teaching him how to be comfortable in social situations, and we are using our common sense and his developmental abilities to help him with this instead of thrusting him and making him deal. So, I'll bring him in, see he gets upset, hold him and take him out for a few minutes, bring him back in, hold him, distract him, and see if he'll go down. He'll then cling to me for a bit till he's comfortable enough walking next to me. I've learned to anticipate that this will happen in almost all scenarios and a lot of times being aware of what is to come makes you able to handle these situations a lot better since you are expecting it and not getting upset. I read this book when he was about a year and a half and realized there was more to his meltdowns than the terrible twos, and it definitely helped since he wasn't talking so much then. He's still learning to verbalize his feelings, so we work on it when we encounter a situation. This way he will learn to anticipate his reaction himself and figure out ways to deal with it as he gets older and won't always have mommy around to help him.
So yes, I recommend this book. I bought it used on amazon.com for fairly cheap since I decided it was a book I wanted to keep to get chizuk and advice down the line, and not just read once in the library.