Customer Reviews
Love comes naturally, Logic not so much 
2008-03-26
This book was recommended by my family counselor. A lot of the concepts are exactly what I would have used in my parenting if not for the bully ex-husband constantly telling me I was wrong. I'm now in a position to start parenting in a way that my son can relate to and with concepts he can grasp, instead of with old-fashioned standards that have been ingrained through generations. Some basic parenting skills will stand the test of time, but our world changes so much with each passing decade and this book is keeping up. A lot of parents raise their children with adult logic - - these guys know how to raise a child based on a teen's logic! The authors' have organized the content to target specific areas so you can read start to finish or skip around, as I have. The writing is easy to understand (not in pyscho-babble) and I feel like some parts seem to have been written specifically for me. Some of the negative reviews of the book criticize the author's religious intrusion, but I was not offended and I am very UNreligious. "You can't make ALL of the people happy All of the time!" Use the parts you're sure will help your family, and pass over the rest. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Good idea for communication 
2008-02-24
This book is another liberal approach to raising teenagers, but it does have some good ideas about communication, i.e., asking questions rather than giving orders. The writers espouse no punishment because the child doesn't get punishment in the "real world." The examples of handling situations with teens include, "What to do when the police call and have your son in jail." Most teens discussed are in serious trouble and have poor relationships with their parents. The kids are in charge in these households, not the parents. (The parents never read, DARE TO DISCIPLINE!) If you are desiring to improve relationships with adjusted children, this book is not for you, even though the writers have a few good ideas.
Extremely helpful 
2008-01-15
As the parents of 3 adolescents with some significant cultural struggles, this book was is so helpful in changing our parenting techniques from being the authorities to being more "consultants."
There's an incredible relief when the responsibility for making decisions belongs to the teen, and the consequences of the decisions also belongs to the teen. I recommend this book as training in parenting for those of us who think we know how to raise teens, but find our teens are struggling, and it's clear we DON'T know how to do it.
Parenting Teens With Love & Logic 2007-12-30
As a concerned grandparent, I would highly recommend this book to any mother with a problem teen. I gave this book as a Christmas present to my daughter-in-law, which was recommended by her daughter's couselor.
This book is an easy read and gives great support to both parents and teens.
Simple, practical and effective book 2007-10-27
Great book helping parents in everyday interactions with their teenagers. Every parent should read it and try to put good suggestions into practice.
A How-To Book for Parenting Teens! 2007-08-13
You don't have to dread the teenage years! Learn how to parent your teens without nagging or yelling and prepare them for a responsible adulthood.
A book and a philosophy admired by counselors in this area 2007-07-05
The Love and Logic series has been greatly appreciated and used by a number of counselors in the southwest Missouri area. I find this book especially helpful not only for restructuring the behavior of one's own children, but for helping to create a win-win sitution for teenage students. It also makes a great gift for friends and family who are looking for new ways to lovingly outsmart.
Ann L. Allman, Ed.D.
excellant book 2007-05-13
I have just started this book and am nearly done with the new edition of Parenting with love and logic. This book was recommended my my childs vice pricipal at school. It has been a big help. It isn't easy working with teens especially if the parent has been doing things differently most their lives and to try to retrain as a parent and also the child is hard work and persistance consistance is the name of the game! Always remember, it's NEVER too later to try something new.
Parenting Teens With Love And Logic 2007-04-03
This book was very informative. The techniques the authors describe are effective, and easy to implement. The effort required is well worth it if you are truly interested in changing your teen's behavior.
The last chapter of the book contains what the authors describe as pearls. They are great dialog starters for tough subjects like sex drugs and money.
The only thing I would change about this book; is buying it thirty years earlier, when I raised my first teenager.
This book should be called "White Middle-Upper Class Christian Parenting with Love & Logic" 2007-03-21
Bluntly put, I found this book over generalized, arrogant, assuming and idealizing. The use of behaviorist techniques is the book's single redeeming quality, offering a small peak into the world of behavioral therapy and its effectiveness when working with teens. Even still, parents would be much better off buying a book on behaviorism than reading the repetitive stories and dialogs between parents and teens.
In terms of ethnicity, race and religious views, the book does not apply cross-culturally. Race and ethnicity are never addressed; two topics that have play a significant role in child rearing. The name of the book is not Christian Parenting Teens With Love & Logic, but it should be. Constant references to God, Christ and The Bible are made and cited as sources for how to be a good parent. A good researcher and author acknowledges their bias at the beginning of a book, but Foster Cline and Jim Fay fail to do so. "It is ok to express the desire to our children that they lead a heterosexual life. Christ's message in the new testament is very clear : God's children are all and equally loved." The author's religious beliefs so heavily saturate the information presented that it is clear they cannot separate their personal biases or even acknowledge the existence of them. The religious stereotypes are appalling, saying that parents should watch out for teens who, "wear black clothes and jewelry with inverted pentacles", that they suggest involvement in satanic activity. However, when I was a teenager, all of my friends and I wore black and studied unique religions and spiritual systems. None of us were satanic or involved in cults; we were artists. This is yet another example of how the authors stereotype and force their personal ignorant beliefs on the reader.
In terms of gender, Parenting Teens With Love & Logic does a superficial job of addressing the topic. Changes that occur in boys and girls are lightly discussed. This is a recurrent issue throughout the book- it touches only briefly on every topic and never goes into detail. While sex and gender are two different topics, it is important to look at how the author addresses both.
If I had to pick one reason, of many, why I would not recommend this book to a client or friend, the discussion of sex and sexuality would be it. The authors personal beliefs about sexuality and premarital sex are so deeply ingrained in each word of this book that Cline and Fay's message is crystal clear: premarital sex is wrong and you should only have sex with one person, your spouse, or else you will get an STD, AIDS, or have issues with fertility later on. Sweeping generalizations and simply inaccurate statements are made in reference to how boys and girls view sex. "A girl usually regards sex as being closely related to reproduction. A guy usually considers sex a physical and emotional release." Not one female I spoke with would concur with this statement, rather they all passionately disagreed and deemed the author arrogant and challenged the statement as an old fashioned myth not in any way applicable to women today.
In summary, the pitfalls of Parenting With Love & Logic far outweigh the few pearls of behaviorist wisdom. As a professional I would not recommend or cite this book as a good source for parenting skills or wisdom, but rather as a superficial, inadequate and biased book that ought to be re-titled. Parenting books that claim to hold no ethnic or religious affiliation should contain only information, research, and techniques, not personal opinions. As previously stated, Parenting With Love & Logic is not one of these books.
If you really want to have some fun though, do a little research on Foster Cline...had I done it before I would not have bought this book.
