As John Rosemond makes clear, the secret to raising a healthy, happy two-year-old starts long before the child's second birthday. Fortunately, we found the common sense and heart-felt humor in his advice to be a sanity check for most of what we'd already thought was right. Anyone with questions will undoubtedly find much to help with the sometimes difficult and always rewarding responsibility of raising a small child.
In a book so full of useful information -- offered in a firm but loving tone -- it is difficult to identify the most significant piece. We bought the book for a complete description of Rosemond's potty-training method (try it; it works!), but there's much, much more there. "Making the Terrible Twos Terrific!" contains probably the best perspective ever written on the difficult transition that children go through from infancy to toddler-hood. Remember, Rosemond tells us, when your baby was born, he opened his eyes, looked at the world and thought, "Wow! Look what I did!" It's from this completely egocentric outlook that the toddler begins his transition into a social human being. Given that viewpoint, it is easy for parents to learn how to best manage and nurture this wonderful, magic time.

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Rosemond covers varied topics, from potty training to discipline to bedtime routines, giving parents a great start in bringing out the best in their young children.

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A very good book that offers good, practical advice on how to teach your child independence, self-discipline, and responsibility.

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I don't always agree with him about the exact strategies he might suggest, but I find his simple, straightforward analysis of toddler issues very helpful to me in parenting. One of the best tools I've used is what he recommends to avoid power struggles, and it has made our house much more peaceful.

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Help to really enjoy your two year old!

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This is just another child training book. This is for parents who fear that their child might control them (and other nonsense). I was hoping for a more attachment parenting style book, with tips on how to get my child through this difficult growth period using a love and logic approach and this is not it. He suggests cry-it-out methods and techniques that will only exacerbate already tense situations by using "formulas" to get your child to behave. I tried this stuff on my first child and it only made our relationship difficult, caused him to lose trust in me when I ignored his cries, and ultimately, he began to lose weight. Then, I came across much more sound advise from Focus on the Family and Dr. Sears. If you want advise on how to raise a well-behaved child, that you come to love and understand, and who loves and understands you, see the Dr. Sears Parenting Library.

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This book was incredibly helpful in understanding the change that occurs in your child as they go from being a baby to a toddler. I really appreciated a lot of Rosemond's insights. Other friends read the book at the same time and they felt it was one of the better parenting books out there.

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