CATEGORY

If certain movies can earn "two hanky" ratings for their ability to induce tears, Sal Severe's How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will, Too easily deserves a "two highlighter" rating for its bountiful collection of noteworthy parenting strategies. From the hilarious opening anecdote about his 4-year-old's verbal attack on a waiter to his reassuring final chapter ("From Cookies to Car Keys"), Severe's candor, practical advice, and savvy long-term vision offer quick relief for overwhelmed parents of 3- to 6-year-olds. The moral of this school psychologist's story: Language counts; use it wisely. Yelling, spanking, and knee-jerk time-outs do little to correct misconduct, and may promote more misbehavior. Instead, Severe champions positive, age-appropriate phrases to curb the whining, parry the potty words, and morph fights into sharing sessions. He shows how to formulate meaningful consequences for little rule breakers and how to wield the parents' ultimate "better behavior" tool: consistency. Literally hundreds of clever catch phrases (void of the word don't), sample dialogues, anger-management techniques, written exercises, and tips on tweaking inadequate corrective measures flow throughout Severe's 25 standalone chapters. An ample book list that offers suggested parent/child reading on dozens of topics nicely caps off this exemplary guide. --Liane Emory Thomas