Product Description
Toddlers can drive you bonkers…so adorable and fun one minute…so stubborn and demanding the next! Yet, as unbelievable as it sounds, there is a way to turn the daily stream of “nos” and “don’ts” into “yeses” and hugs…if you know how to speak your toddler’s language. In one of the most useful advances in parenting techniques of the past twenty-five years, Dr. Karp reveals that toddlers, with their immature brains and stormy outbursts, should be thought of not as pint-size people but as pintsize…cavemen.
Having noticed that the usual techniques often failed to calm crying toddlers, Dr. Karp discovered that the key to effective communication was to speak to them in their own primitive language. When he did, suddenly he was able to soothe their outbursts almost every time! This amazing success led him to the realization that children between the ages of one and four go through four stages of “evolutionary” growth, each linked to the development of the brain, and each echoing a step in prehistoric humankind’s journey to civilization:
• The “Charming Chimp-Child” (12 to 18 months): Wobbles around on two legs, grabs everything in reach, plays a nonstop game of “monkey see monkey do.”
• The “Knee-High Neanderthal” (18 to 24 months): Strong-willed, fun-loving, messy, with a vocabulary of about thirty words, the favorites being “no” and “mine.”
• The “Clever Caveman” (24 to 36 months):
Just beginning to learn how to share, make friends, take turns, and use the potty.
• The “Versatile Villager” (36 to 48 months): Loves to tell stories, sing songs and dance, while trying hard to behave.
To speak to these children, Dr. Karp has developed two extraordinarily effective techniques:
1) The “fast food” rule—restating what your child has said to make sure you got it right;
2) The four-step rule—using gesture, repetition, simplicity, and tone to help your
irate Stone-Ager be happy again.
Once you’ve mastered “toddler-ese,” you will be ready to apply behavioral techniques specific to each stage of your child’s development, such as teaching patience and calm, doing time-outs (and time-ins), praise through “gossiping,” and many other strategies. Then all the major challenges of the toddler years—including separation anxiety, sibling rivalry, toilet training, night fears, sleep problems, picky eating, biting and hitting, medicine taking — can be handled in a way that will make your toddler feel understood. The result: fewer tantrums, less yelling, and, best of all, more happy, loving time for you and your child.
From the Hardcover edition.
The Happiest Toddler on the Block: The New Way to Stop the Daily Battle of Wills and Raise a Secure and Well-Behaved One- to Four-Year-Old
If your baby is under 12 months old then you need to Click Here Now to see the special deal just for Parenting Success readers!
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I absolutely agree with A. Harrison from Tulsa. I have 3 children age 4 and under, so when this book came in I just dove right in. After reading just a couple of pages, I was dumbfounded at the overt references to Darwinism. As suggested by Dr. Karp if this part was too much at first just skip to Part 2. I skipped to part 2 of the book and did find things that made sense and do work most of the time with my 2 older children. Unfortunately, all of the continuous Darwinistic blathering just has really overshadowed any real help or enjoyment I may have gotten from it. I have respect for Dr. Karp and his success, but my view on his theories is definitely tainted now that I know the basis for them. I’m torn on whether to return or sell the book because I don’t want to encourage anyone else to read the evolutionary garbage contained in it. Happy for any help with parenting skills that others may receive, disappointed and sad for anyone who believes the evolutionary theories Dr. Karp bases his work on.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book is not what it appears. The doctor who wrote it seems to be using what he hopes you will find is a “mildly amusing” analogy between various stages of toddlers and various stages of neanderthals. The doctor uses quotes about evolution and man being derived from “fishy things”. I bought this book for my daughter-in-law after it was recommended on Dr. Phil. What I read was appalling and I am glad that I decided to read a few chapters to understand more about it before I gave it to her. Obviously the doctor counts on you trusting him just because he is a doctor and uses his first few chapters to hope that you will think the analogy is “cute” and ignore his subversive attempts to make you think the theories of Darwin and evolution must be “okay”. This type of writing totally detracts from his actual techniques to help parents and toddlers. It was unnecessary and offensive; I returned both the book and the dvd and also returned two others books and dvds by the same author. The book seemed to indicate it would use a mild anology between cavemen and toddlers on its dust jacket but no where did it indicate it would use direct Darwin/evolution principles. It would be one thing if the book plainly touted evolutionary theories on its cover/dust jacket but it was not sold that way and therefore is deceptive.
Rating: 1 / 5
If this book has helpful parenting advice I was unable to get to it. I couldn’t get past the first chapter which gives a very detailed ‘historic’ account of the evolution of man from fish with gills through thought processing human and compares the gestational period from conception through age 4 as a mirror image of mans million year evolutionary process. As a creation beliving Christian I cannot stomach such ‘factual’ writing where evolution is concerned and had to put the book down. I was very disappointed because it seemed that it might have made some good points otherwise.
Rating: 1 / 5
I admit I’ve not read the book, so take that as you will. However, after reading all the reviews positive and negative, all the information on this book provided by this site and the first page option, I have come to the conclusion that this book will help a small group of people, but on the whole is not useful. I am almost saddened to see so many positive reviews advocating that one lock their child in their room at night to make them sleep on their own. In the same breath this man insists that we speak “toddler-ese” because the child won’t understand more? How will a being that doesn’t understand more than primitive language (supposedly) understand the concept of being locked in their room, albeit “lovingly”.
I also find fault in the idea that one should “talk like a cave man” to a toddler because that’s what they will understand. From day one we didn’t do baby talk, we didn’t shorten words or sentences for ease. We just spoke to her. Normally using proper grammar. At 15 months old her vocabulary was reaching over 150 words. Now, my daughter is almost 3 and is quite articulate. I’ve never once in her life hear her say, “Kiara need milk”. It’s always “Mommy, I need some milk.” (Please is optional, but we’re getting there.) I feel that the cave-man talk stunts their growth and understanding of the way people are to talk and interact with one another. It supports the laziness that we’re finding in our children’s studies as evidenced by flagging test scores and general apathy regarding education. Give your child the tools to express themselves rather than dumbing down the world. People underestimate the intelligence of babies/toddlers far too much. Quite sad, really, as children are amazing and incredible creatures.
Tantrums happen. Kids want to cuddle before bed. The lack of these things doesn’t necessarily make them “happy” nor does the inclusion of these “stumbling blocks” indicate an “unhappy child”.
This book is not for our family.
Rating: 1 / 5
I have read in a few reviews that one of the suggestions in the book is to lock your toddler in his/her room. I don’t know if the suggestion includes the parent/caregiver being in the room or not, though the sense I got was that the child would be alone. In many states, locking a child in a room is considered abusive and is a cause for a call to the state authorities or child abuse hotline. Not saying that parents who might follow these suggestions are knowingly trying to harm their kids, but please know that certain states might view certain things as abusive. Check it out in your state!
Rating: 1 / 5
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