1-2-3 Magic for Kids: Helping Your Children Understand the New Rules

by Thomas W. Phelan, Tracy M. Lewis

Overview

By presenting the popular 1-2-3 Magic parenting program from a child’s point of view, this innovative guide provides kids with a thorough understanding of the disciplinary system—from the counting and time-out methods parents will be using to how better behavior benefits the entire family and leaves more time for play. Storytelling portions are coupled with copious illustrations to help describe the basic tenets of 1-2-3 Magic—such as positive reinforcement, charting, and the docking system—while a question-and-answer section outlines common situations, including What if I don’t go to my room? Will I still be counted if I have a friend over? and What kinds of things can we do for one-on-one fun? Crossword puzzles, word searches, and journal suggestions further encourage children to apply what they’ve learned about the methods.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781889140414
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	4 - 12 Years

About the Author

Dr. Thomas W. Phelan is an internationally renowned expert, author, and lecturer on child discipline and Attention Deficit Disorder. A registered Ph.D. clinical psychologist, he appears frequently on radio and TV. Dr. Phelan practices and works in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Read an Excerpt

1-2-3 Magic for Kids

Helping Your Children Understand the New Rules

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By Thomas W. Phelan, Tracy M. Lewis, Ron Villani

ParentMagic, Inc.

Copyright © 2008 ParentMagic, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-889140-41-4

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CHAPTER 1

What is 1-2-3 Magic?

Rachel was in her backyard, sliding down the sliding board on her swing set. She loved to slide! Her best friend, Maddie, who lived right next door, loved to slide, too. The girls liked it when their mothers took them to the park around the corner because there was the longest, most slippery sliding board in the world right in their own neighborhood.

Rachel and Maddie had lived next door to each other since they were little babies. In fact, Rachel couldn't remember a time when Maddie's family wasn't right on the other side of her backyard fence! They were in second grade together. They both loved their teacher and were so happy to be in the same class!

Even when they weren't in school, the two girls were always together. They loved to ride their bikes, play games, and have sleepovers. Sleepovers were their favorite! They usually stayed at Rachel's house when they spent the night together because Maddie's Mom and Dad yelled an awful lot. It made Rachel's tummy hurt when that happened. Maddie's parents were nice people, but she didn't like screaming at all. It reminded her of her own mom before she started using 1-2-3 Magic.

One day, as Rachel was sliding down her sliding board in her backyard, she could hear yelling through the open windows at Maddie's house. She didn't know what was going on.

First, she heard Maddie yelling and then her Mom yelling. Then Maddie was yelling LOUDER and then her Mom was yelling even LOUDER THAN THAT! Suddenly, their back door flew open and Maddie came running out into her backyard. She was crying really, really hard. Rachel wondered why Maddie was so upset! She jumped the fence between their houses very quickly to get to her friend.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" asked Rachel.

"My Mom is so mean!" wailed Maddie.

"What did she do?" Rachel asked.

Maddie said, "She told me that I had to clean my room before we could go to my grandma's this afternoon. It's Saturday morning! I don't WANT to clean my room! She said that our weekend was going to be busy, so I had to do it right now!

I yelled that I was NOT going to do it and went in my room and slammed the door. Then, Mommy came in and started screaming at me that I had better clean my room or I'd be in really big trouble."

"Telling you to clean up your room isn't that mean," Rachel said.

"No, I guess that wasn't so mean. The mean part was when she yelled at me," said Maddie. Her face looked so sad.

"Didn't you yell at her first?" Rachel asked.

"I don't care. She's still MEAN!" Maddie argued.

"Yeah, I don't like to be yelled at, either. My Mom used to yell all the time before we started 1-2-3 Magic," said Rachel.

"1-2-3 Magic? What's that?" Maddie asked.

"1-2-3 Magic is a nice way for parents to get kids to behave. We've been doing it at our house for a long time. I really like it. I didn't at first, but now everyone in my family is a whole lot nicer. I'm really glad that my Mom and Dad both use it!" Rachel said.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from 1-2-3 Magic for Kids by Thomas W. Phelan, Tracy M. Lewis, Ron Villani. Copyright © 2008 ParentMagic, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of ParentMagic, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Title Page,
Copyright Page,
How to Use This Book,
PART I - The Story of Rachel and Maddie,
CHAPTER 1 - What is 1-2-3 Magic?,
CHAPTER 2 - What Is Counting?,
CHAPTER 3 - How Will They Get Me to Clean My Room?,
CHAPTER 4 - Is It Really That Easy?,
CHAPTER 5 - The Fun Stuff!,
PART II - Important Things About 1-2-3 Magic,
CHAPTER 6 - The 1-2-3 Magic Tool Kit,
CHAPTER 7 - Kids' Questions About 1-2-3 Magic,
PART III - Things To Do and Things To Think About,
CHAPTER 8 - Fun Activities and Puzzles,
CHAPTER 9 - What Will Our Family Be Like Afterwards?,
WHO'S IN CHARGE AT YOUR HOUSE?,
1-2-3 Magic - A humorous look at parenting, a serious look at discipline.,