Not a favorite. Nice ideas, but Jeff & I definitely did not feel like implimenting well over half the suggestions in the book.

I think I saw this book advertised in a recent issue of Thriving Family magazine and it caught my attention. I went into parenting thinking that I knew exactly what I was going to do when my daughter disobeyed and how I would handle it. Boy, was I surprised! All kids are different and while some respond well to common disciplines, others do not. The actions I was taking were actually provoking the problem and making them worse, not bringing us to a point of teaching and repentance. So, I am always on the watch for creative ways to teach things to children, and I think "reality discipline" can be quite effective. Lisa has a great sense of humor and this book is easy to read and a great resource for parents. As with most parenting books, I don't agree with it all, but I do recommend it and I'd like to have a copy to keep, as I borrowed the one I read.

Love this book! As a mom with five kids and not having a lot of time to sit and read a book about disciplining and having to high light and refer back to the book when I need an idea on how to correct one of my kids it has a great look it up area and great ideas about how to deal with toddlers because the answer to disciplining isn't always a spanking or yelling. I still use things in the book with my almost 11 year old!

Yes, good stuff. This former child start really has a gift for parenting and for writing too. A great book full of useful ideas that actually work.

I love some of the ideas/suggestions in this book. Some of them I was already doing and some I have recently put into practice. While I don't agree with all of them I did find many helpful ones and insightful things to pray about.

Overall this was a wonderful book with some great ideas for correction and rewards! The few issues I have with it are as follows: I would not recommend using the Bible as correction (I.e. making a child copy a verse as punishment), because in my experience it makes people not like the Bible or to think of it as a corrective measure only. Beyond that, a few of the corrective measures seemed a little harsh to me personally (I.e., putting a drop of hot sauce on their tongue to correct harsh words or attitude). I wouldn't say these corrections are morally wrong, but they're not my style. Other than that, I think the majority of the corrections in this book are great and I will use many of them!

There are parts of this that seem OK, but others that seem to fly in the face of others I've read. What's the point of punishing after the fact when you're in public? That seems pretty ineffective to me. There are times when I am feeling less than confident in my parenting skills, and this book seemed to make it worse somehow. Maybe if I read it in a better mood...

Took this back without finishing. Maybe I'll revisit it sometime, but it wasn't that engaging for me.

This woman is vile and this book is full of creative ways to abuse children -- making them eat hot sauce or terrible tasting food, telling them if they won't hold your hand crossing the street then you'll hold them by the hair, making them wear boxing gloves all day, spraying water in their faces, not allowing them to go to the bathroom, telling them to lie to their doctors so CPS isn't (rightly) called on you for child abuse.... Has advice like how to find a private place in public to hit your kids so nobody sees. The only thing more heartbreaking than this book is how many people gave it high ranks.

Sample quotes--

p.135 "The hearts of our children are `filled with schemes to do wrong'" "Next time they act up in public, shock them by leaving your half-full shopping cart and taking them directly to the car for correction."

p.138 "As we walk along together shopping, I will suddenly give them silly commands that they must obey without arguing, such as `Walk backward,' or `Stop and touch your toes,' or `Give me a kiss.' Occasionally I'll throw in a real command, like `Don't touch that,' or `No, you may not have an Icee.' My favorite curve, however, is to say no to some reasonable request, like `May I go to the bathroom?'"

p.265 Sample prayer for a child "Dear God, Thank you that my parents love me and that because they love me, they correct me when I sin. Thank you that the spankings drive out the foolishness in my heart."

Light on theory and heavy on practical advice, this book ranks as my favorite parenting book so far. Sure there are methods mentioned that I don't employ: soap or hot sauce in the mouth. However, having recently reread Sheparding A Child's Heart, this book was a gigantic relief. There is TONS of scripture you can use in training/discipling your kids. Also, she gives you freedom to use multiple methods to discipline within a Biblical framework - a big relief after reading Sheparding in which spanking is the ONLY way.

A well-written book about raising your kids right. Not a ton of insight, but still some great reminders and some fun ideas.

I had challenges reading this book probably because of cultural differences. Below are some quotes:

1.tMy purpose in writing Creative Correction is to give you hope, not a guilt complex. I’ve read a lot of self-help parenting books, and ironically, they often make me feel worse about myself as a parent. (page xii)… If you bought Creative Correction thinking you had finally found the book, please close it immediately and return it for a full refund. I’m not about to make false promises. If, on the other hand, you’ve realized that what works for one child may not necessarily work for another, and that some creativity is in order, Creative Correction Is the book for you. (page xiii)
2.tGod loves us and wants what’s best for us. Because He cares so deeply, He disciplines us when we need it. He loves us too much to let us continue down the wrong paths. God allows us to experience difficulties and hardship because, with his help, our problems the grab our attention and help to steer us back on course. Hebrews 12:5-6 perfectly illustrates how God balances the tension between loving us, His children, unconditionally and teaching us the consequences of sin. (page 20)
3.tTeaching our children to obey us and our words is primarily to teach them to obey God and His Word… I love that! Because the rules I’m instilling are God’s, I no longer have to respond with “Because I’m the mom. That’s why!” I can recite an appropriate scripture and then calmly tell my kids, “Honey, I didn’t make up these rules, God did. And this is what He say makes life work. And because I believe Him and I love you, I’m going to enforce what He says.”
4.tChildren who grow up in legalistic, strict environments in which the parents never explain the purpose of discipline will often obey just as long as Mom and Dad are watching, then act up the second their parents turn their heads. On the other hand, kids who grow up in homes that lack rules and standards, where the parents are buddies rather than authority figures, often know the right thing to do but don’t have the willpower to carry it out (page 58.
5.tThere are many ways to focus our children’s eyes on eternity, and I’ve outlined some of those principles throughout this chapter. But as we set out to shape our kids, we must first remember that our ability as parents to instill a long term perspective in our children is directly tied to our own commitment to maintain one. Like so much of parenting, it begins with us. (page 96)
6.t“You can really get your child’s attention by ordering her to do meaningless chores, such as moving the woodpile to the other side of the yard or digging a large hole and then filling it up again.” (page 160)
7.tIsn’t it amazing how two children can tell entirely different stories about the same event? When this happens, I restrict them to the same room until they can come up with one version of the story. This forces them to think about the events that actually occurred, and each child is motivated to confess her “sin” in order to be released from the deliberation room.
8.tAs exhausting as toddlers and preschoolers can be, the simplest forms of correction usually work the best with them. So, although I’ve added a Toddler Toolbox at the end of this chapter, I want to cover what I have discovered to be the most effective tools up front: spanking, routine, choices, redirection, tone of voice, and lots of lovin’. (page 285)

I am already loving the concept of this book--so easy to use when needing some ideas quickly to handle a situation with your kids. I love having a bagful of options to try and scripture to back it up. I'll give my full review when I'm finished with it but I can already tell I'm going to like it.