Thomas Gordon: PET (Familienkonferenz)

I have a book recommendation for you. My friend had a copy of this book with her when we recenly spent a long weekend at Center Parcs Moselle (Alsace, France) - review yet to follow. I read a few pages and couldn't stop myself from reading on and on. Back home I immediately ordered my own (used and very cheap) copy. It's a classic. My Mom said, she had read it, when I was little. But she also said: It didn't work for us kids. How come I already know...

From Amazon.com:

P.E.T., or Parent Effectiveness Training, began almost forty years ago as the first national parent-training program to teach parents how to communicate more effectively with kids and offer step-by-step advice to resolving family conflicts so everybody wins. This beloved classic is the most studied, highly praised, and proven parenting program in the world -- and it will work for you. Now revised for the first time since its initial publication, this groundbreaking guide will show you:
How to avoid being a permissive parent
How to listen so kids will talk to you and talk so kids will listen to you
How to teach your children to "own" their problems and to solve them
How to use the "No-Lose" method to resolve conflicts

Using the timeless methods of P.E.T. will have immediate results: less fighting, fewer tantrums and lies, no need for punishment. Whether you have a toddler striking out for independence or a teenager who has already started rebelling, you'll find P.E.T. a compassionate, effective way to instill responsibility and create a nurturing family environment in which your child will thrive.

It is really inspiring to me. I keep reading it and try out what works for us. A lot of learning and improving to be done by parents. But to me it's a goal. A philosophy that I want for my own family life. Even if it doesn't work right away nor always and for every situation (I don't know yet). But I'm determined to find out...