Let me say first of all that Dr. Dobson’s view of parenting comes from a Christian / Biblical perspective. Also, please realize for whom this book was written: people parenting a strong-willed child. This is not necessarily a parenting book for EVERY parent. The strategies used in this book would not be used with a child that is compliant…they are designed for parenting the strong-willed child.

That being said, this book has been a great help to our family. We have gained insight into how and what our child thinks and why the child reacts in certain ways. This insight has been a life-changing. No one approach to parenting is 100% successful…we did not agree with everything written but the book has been a great help! I recommend this book!!

Raised on the principals of Dr Dobson by my mother 20 years ago, I picked up this book at a local store and sat down in the coffee shop to read it. It was exactly the same book, paraphrased differently with the same old tactics.

I was appalled. Dr. Dobson seems so out of touch with parenting, and effective parenting that he might as well be on Pluto. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the professed methods had no effect or bearing on me as a "strong willed child" because all children, are strong willed when they want their way. This book felt like 2 hours of my life that I will never get back.

Keeping it simple, maintaining balance, consistency, choosing your battles; all the rhetoric of raising children brought into practical application in the light of the Gospel. Dr. James Dobson’s wonderful teaching The New Strong-Willed Child: Birth Through Adolescence is a re-working of his first edition (1978) to apply to current times. Having experienced both editions, much of the information is timeless, with the newest edition incorporating current real-life circumstances. Dr. Dobson teaches a new generation of parents about leading their children as examples: not in the old tradition of “do as I say, not as I do…” Through loving leadership, a firm hand and a tender heart, you can learn to train your strong-willed child without damaging his/her spirit. Many of our greatest leaders were strong-willed children. To raise your strong-willed child you must be firm, not wavering even on the slightest point. They will smell weakness and take advantage of it every time.

This book sounded like just what the Doctor ordered. I checked it out of the library and waited days for it to come in. The first chapter described the author's standoff with his dachsund who thought he was king of the castle, and then the dog's behavior was equated with that of a strong-willed child. It is about letting your kids know who is boss in order to make them obey. It is extremely different from the "positive behavior corrections" we are encouraged to use now in child-rearing. It is more "old school" in its approach to disciplining children and making them follow rules. While I agree in some cases that a child needs more intervention than "touch the kitty gently" instead of my mother's choice of words to me, "If I ever catch you hitting that cat on the head with your shoe again, so help me, you won't see daylight for a week..." Needless to say, my mother put the fear of God into me. I am 31 years old, have never been in trouble, never got a single detention in school, always listened to the adults, never talked back, and did what I was told, and my mother still scares the bejeezus out of me. There needs to be some balance to my mother's (which is also the same as Dr. James Dobson's approach) and the "be nice" approach of redirecting bad behavior so children don't grow up in fear of their parents. While the "iron fist" approach may have worked for my mother on a child like myself because I wasn't as "strong willed" as some, it definitely has not proven to work on my 5-year-old, and has only increased the daily fights and arguments.

This is a wonderful book and the revisions are just another bonus. I am a big fan of Dr. Dobson and have listened to his show for as long as I can remember.

My husband and I are the proud parents of two bio children, and two adopted children. 3 of those four children are strong willed.

I recommend this book to everyone because it can be easily adapted to many situations. The question and answers are on target and without frills, it's straight answers in which many parents and caregivers are seeking.

Consistancy is hard especially during the times when your child is nice and settled... verses acting up...but Dr. Dobson never gives anything that will harm a child in any way. It's easier to love a child when they are young, but many over the years have found that security is very important....

I found Dr Dobson's writing to be just the balance I was looking for as a parent of a child whose stubborn streak so often seemed stronger than mine.
My son would dig in and hunker down in his disobedience. Everyone around us said we were not being consistent or we must be rewarding his bad behavior in some way. I began reading this book and finding some hope for our situation, some encouragement as a parent and some immediate help for our young family that was being ruled by one small boy. Dobson seems to understand both the compliant child and his strong-willed sibling, and comes up with a common sense approach to the desperate times we find ourselves in as we learn to be good parents. There are Q & A sections and research to back up the idea that some kids are stronger in temperament than others.
This book brought some things into focus for our family and was a big help.