The Challenging Child: Understanding, Raising, And Enjoying The Five ""Difficult"" Types Of Children

This book is not just for parents with VERY challenging children, but for ANY parent with ANY child. Who among us hasn't come up against a behavior or problem with our child, and felt as if we had tried everything we know of, with no result? It doesn't have to be a huge pattern of difficult behaviors to drive you crazy; it can just be that One Thing that you fight over, every day... I love that Dr. Greenspan emphasizes the point of view of the child, to help frustrated parents understand that the kid isn't being deliberately, willfully difficult. I have two friends with VERY stubborn, almost 2 year olds, and I wish they would just crack the chapter on The Stubborn Child. They seem so frustrated, and sometimes I see them making the exact parenting missteps that Dr. Greenspan outlines. I must admit that it is hard to read the book and see yourself there, in the mistakes you've made and the things you've thought and tried. But, as I tell my son, kids don't come with an instruction booklet attached, and parents make mistakes sometimes, too. This book is full of kind and sound advice and really helped our family. I wish the title was somewhat different, because at first blush it seems as though it was written only for the parents of that Kid Throwing the Huge Tantrum in the middle of the restaurant; you know, THE CHALLENGING CHILD. But, it is a great book for all of us, who want to understand our kids more and become better, more confident parents, and raise happy and loving children. I'd give it as a shower gift but I'm sure it would offend!!

I took this book out of the library because of my high-energy, aggressive 2 year old, and am now here to buy it because I need to have it by my bed until I memorize it!! Only half kidding...it has been enormously helpful in thinking about his behavior. But the surprise is, all of my other kids are in here too, as well as me and my husband! Anyone with a strong personality was probably a difficult child, at least in some ways (ask your mom!!), and this book gives you insight into how you got the way you are, and how your personality might intersect with your child's to cause trouble understanding each other. My favorite thing about this book is the way Greenspan includes a section on "what it feels like" to be each of the types of challenging children, so you can understand that your child often really, truly, doesn't see the world at all the way you do. They are not just trying to drive you nuts, they genuinely sometimes see black when you see white! If you can get behind their eyes you can support them so much better when things get hairy. I would agree with the other reviewers that there isn't much in this book about special needs per se-- if you're looking for a book on ADD or another issue of that sort you may not find what you need here in terms of specific information. But for garden-variety behavior issues, plain old intense kids, and parent-child communication troubles, this book is fantastic.

Definitely an informative view of children dealing with very specific issues. I only found one section to be especially relevant to my child's needs, but it was worth reading!

I went into a bookstore in search of a different book but purchased this one instead after browsing through the chapter I identified as my 2 year old daughter, a highly sensitive child. I agreed with everything the author described in regard to this character, and I even found myself in the book. As a teacher and parent, I believe this is the best book I have seen in recognizing and nurturing the five different "challenging" children. Even my husband, who is always a bit skeptical with parenting books, was amazed at how on-target this one is. I highly recommend this book for anyone not only wishing to identify with a "challenging" child but also desiring to assist that child as he/she deals with the daily struggles that face that particular temperment.

This is the second copy. I bought it to pass on so my children can better understand a grandchild. Hoping to get one into the hands of our local school too. Greenspan covers the challenges some children face when their bodies do not perform in sync which can cause them issues staying focused on learning, since they are spending so much time just trying to keep up. He talks about the problems, takes a lot of time explaining how the child feels and then offers ways to help your child work around these issues. If only our schools could understand the problems as clearly.

Amazing book, for parents of any type of challenging child. It helped us a lot to understand, especially the "defying" child and "hypersensitive" ones, as 2 faces of the same coin, as very sensitive children that either fight back the estimules when they can't cope with emotions, or cannot deal with them as they have less filters and would absorbe everything.

The thing I like most about this book is that it allows busy parents and caregivers to focus specifically on the types and behaviors that they see in their child, without having to read the entire book. We've read lots of books and this was the first one that described our son so clearly and specifically. Thank you Dr. Greenspan!

I have 2 granddaughters, one is very stubborn, sweet loving child but really pushes . I was hopefull this book might provide me some insight into what to do when nothing else works. Its proven helpful so far, though i havent read it all. I like how its broken down into 5 types.