The Parent Survival Guide: From Chaos to Harmony in Ten Weeks or Less

by Theresa Kellam

When parents turn to the parenting/self-help section of their local bookstore, they are looking for both practical guidance and a childrearing philosophy that resonates with them - an approach they can relate to and be comfortable implementing in their own household. In The Parent Survival Guide : From Chaos to Harmony in Ten Weeks or Less , Theresa Kellam presents a way to strengthen the relationship with the child that simultaneously promotes the parent's own emotional healing and wellness. Grounded in a research-supported therapeutic technique that uses structured play time as the catalyst for interpersonal connection and growth, Kellam's model is subtle in its simplicity. Through a series of guided exercises, Kellam gives parents the skills they need to begin to set aside special playtimes with their children, during which the most important part of the process is simply "being there" in a way that promotes healing, growth, and communication. The beauty of this approach is that in only 30 minutes, once a week, the results can be seen in only a few weeks. Features of the book The Parent Survival Guide is structured over a series of 10 chapters, which can be read in conjunction with the 10-sessions of the CPRT workshops for those parents enrolled in a formal filial training program. But the material in the book is designed to be read and implemented by anyone. The author is not only a licensed psychologist and filial therapist, but she has also gone through the program with her own son and continues to rely on its principles within her family.

Genres: Parenting

264 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2008

Reviews

[Lisa Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful for all parents who want to have a content family life and enjoy their children. The techniques described by Dr. Kellam are easy to follow. This book is written for any parent or caregiver to help understand children better and manage difficult problems. Highly recommended!

[Macey Eamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives amazing perspective to shift how you parent. It’s a guide for how to implement a weekly “special play time” or CRPR (child-parent relationship therapy) with your child which is a child-centered therapy session ran by the parent. Past that, it gives 3-5 amazing tools to use with your children inside and outside of the sessions. I love that it is not a bunch, but 3 main core ones that change how you speak to and think about your child and your relationship with them. Choice-giving is a game changer and it’s not what you think the popular red cup or blue cup method!! This book is so vulnerable from Dr. Kellam’s perspective and her journey with this method as well as her client’s examples - I didn’t expect for it to be so deeply reflective and introspective for myself. We’ve already started the special playtimes with our daughter and our learning some new things and how to better cope with her sleeping and separation anxiety struggles. I feel so hopeful that we have this framework and method. Parenting feels so hard in this time in society and so much is thrown at you, it’s a relief to have a researched method by child psychologists with real examples and stories provided to you to teach you how to use these CRPR methods in your home. I’m excited to see how this helps us as we get better with the skills and our own emotionally resilience

[Abigail Bowne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be more well known! Play therapy with a strong relationship focus. I would recommend it for sure.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent parenting advice.