1-2-3 Magic: Gentle 3-Step Child & Toddler Discipline for Calm, Effective, and Happy Parenting (Positive Parenting Guide for Raising Happy Kids)

So I picked up this book based on a reference to better handle my six year old autistic, FASD, ADHD child who is doing well but was becoming more defiant of late. The book is pretty close to the parenting that I have been doing BUT for some important differences. I updated my approach to match the book and BANG! my son snapped right back into being a pretty good kid. I developed my parenting approach over 10 years using trial and error with my kids. This book validated most of my approach but did a lot more such as: 1) Explaining WHY the approach is needed. This is important because you better understand when and when not to use an approach. 2) Goes over the border cases of how to apply an approach and when to seek help (which wasn’t needed by me but is comforting to know). 3) Explains the approach in detail. This is more important than you may think as for example, you may know the basics (counting 1, 2, 3) but the details such as not making a comment or explaining your actions to your child are important! This book explains why that is important and because you know why you shouldn’t talk, you know when to break the rule. I wish I had read this book when my first child was born. It would have saved us all some pain and suffering. There are some tweaks I would recommend for a neural divergent child but they fall within the suggestions of the book and again, because you know why you do things, you know when to break the rules as called out in the book. I strongly recommend this book. If I can use it effectively to manage my speech delayed, ADHD, autistic, FASD child, you can certainly use it effectively on your neural normal child. Happy Parenting! PS: For special needs parents: having a book explaining how you are parenting your child is quite useful. My school district did not provide special training to teachers and special needs aides. Being able to give them a book explaining how to work with him has all kinds of knock on benefits. This will be a book I plan to provide to his teachers at the start of each year!

My parents used this book to parent my sisters and I, so I am excited to read it and use it on my boy! 1-2-3 magic teaches kids that they have the opportunity to make the decision to continue doing whatever they shouldn’t be, or they can stop and avoid a time out! I think it is helpful to read and a great way for parents to introduce discipline

With all the parenting information out there, I really appreciated the simplicity of this approach. I have a tendency to talk too much and it really does take a lot of practice to hold back but it gets easier the more you do it. It helps keep you as a parent more calm and in control. Instead of thinking in the moment, "how should I handle this tantrum?" or just automatically yelling, it gives me a simple, calm plan. The most important thing I've learned as a parent is to stay consistent and this is no different. Kids catch on pretty quick when they know what to expect because the boundary is being held. I appreciated all the different scenarios in the book and the realness of a lot of the parents that felt very relatable. It doesn't always work perfectly with my kids every time but a majority of the time it does. I definitely still have some room for improvement. Loved that it was an easy and enjoyable read. I looked forward to reading it each day and I do not consider myself a reader.

I decided to buy 1-2-3 Magic because it was recommended to me by a coworker. She has 3 young children and swears by the method. My 2.5 year old was slowly becoming out of control. She was hitting her little brother and at times refusing to comply with some directions. My husband and I were at our wit ends. Trying different methods all the time, but nothing was working. It was getting to the point where some for her behaviors were dangerous! She was running out of the house even when we said no! We are gentle parents, but from reading this book we learned we were a bit too permissive. After a few days of consistently implementing 1-2-3 Magic, she started learning we mean business and many of the behaviors stopped. Of course, there are still moments she doesn't listen - she's only 2! But overall, I would say this works. You can make this book your own and I recommend you do. After reading a lot of feedback people said kids wouldn't listen until the parent counted to 3. So my husband and I do "if/ then" statements instead of counting, but still follow the same principals. For example, "If you hit your brother, you will be put in another room." "If you walk out the door without mommy and daddy, you will not get to play outside today." In addition 1-2-3 Magic suggests "not talking." We've decided to explain the first time and recap at neutral times... but we don't talk on and on and repeat ourselves. There are a lot of specific solutions in the book that are probably geared to slightly older children- but I still think it's worth the read even for young toddlers!

Have only read a few chapters but I think this is going to be fantastic for my extremely strong willed little guy. Will be recommending to everyone

Highly recommend this book for parents out there struggling and unsure of their parenting approach, this book will give you so many tips and useful tools to be the best parent you can be and feel confident in your approach.

The content of the book is as expected. Good. I purchased this as a gift for my daughter because my grandson is approaching his two's. Since it is a gift, I vacillated between the paperback and hard cover versions as I was concerned about the paper quality of the pages in the paperback. Since there was a $36 difference between the two, I ultimately went with the paperback. I got the book today and the paper quality met my expectations. That is to say, it is as poor as I anticipated. I understand you get what you pay for but am incredulous the price difference between good paper and poor could be so much (even factoring in the hard cover).

Great read for self awareness and reflection as a parent. They offer creative ways of getting your thoughts out. Great price for the product and I would recommend this to any parent. Learning is never ending and it’s always nice to get more support.

We already started to apply whst’s in the book and it’s grest

Just buy it and start applying the principles . You are sure to get results.

“1-2-3 Magic” really works! The 3-step method is easy to follow, practical, and has made parenting calmer and more effective. Highly recommend for any parent looking for simple, actionable strategies.

Muy buen libro, muy bien explicado y con un toque de humor que hace que leer este libro sea realmente instructivo y ameno. Por lo poco que he estado aplicando las técnicas, parece que funcionan muy bien