Strong-Willed Child Book Report

“There once was a little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead and when she was good she was very very good and when she was bad she was horrid.” That is the poem my mother used to recite to me when I was being “strong-willed”. Jokingly, I believe it is just a proper way of saying difficult; also known to my mother as stubborn, defiant and full of steam. One story in particular she described me as crying so angrily that my tears came shooting straight out. There may perhaps be some exaggeration there. Fast forward almost 25 years later and I gave birth to my very own little six pound ten ounce “nightmare”. My mother feels joy knowing I am getting what I gave. Isn’t that sweet? Dr. James Dobson in his bestseller book “The New Strong-Willed Child” guides bewildered Christian parents (like me and my mother) into better understanding their little Napoleonic brutes, giving them the tools they need to be successful in one of the most challenging roles, a parent of a strong-willed child.
The original strong-willed child book was one of the first books that he had written after leaving college in 1977. Since then there have been nearly 3 million copies sold in numerous languages. Dobson revised the original due to more recent discoveries in child development as well as determining which methods Dobson suggested were successful or not. Dobson stands firm that strong-willed children need wise parents who will persevere to insure they will grow into healthy adults. The wisdom parents need involves a well thought out “game plan” as Dobson calls it. Without it, it appears to be like being in a boat without a paddle. To raise any child you need tools, but a strong-willed child is even more desperately in need for them. Dobson encourages parents to be guided between the principles of love and control. Although not always easy, it can subdue the amount or level of animosity between parent and child. Strong-willed children often pull parents in the