Read This: Playful Parenting

Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen

Playful Parenting offers a parenting approach I find tremendously valuable. It makes interactions with children more fun, fosters clearer communication and a stronger connection between parent and child, and offers an alternative discipline approach rather than the typical punitive or permissive models. Cohen just understands kids, and his book combines strategies and examples in a way that teaches the reader how to be a more playful parent. I would recommend this book to all parents because the methods apply whether you have an infant or a teenager and are utilitarian in the sense that they will actually work in the real world: when you and your child are cranky at the end of the day, when you’re standing in line at the grocery store, when your nine year old says, “I’m bored.” No need for time-outs, for taking away gameboys, no more tedium when your child wants to play with trains or dolls.