Review: When Your Centerpiece is Made of Play-Doh and the Dog Has Eaten Your Crayons, by Jennifer Koontz

When I see a picture of a baby , it makes me go awhhhh :) , for those parenting them life can be a bit of a challenge, so for all those parents out there this book is for you.

Review: When your Centerpiece is made of Play-Dough and the Dog has eaten your crayons - Jennifer Koontz- March 2012

When you see parents out and about with their babies, life looks pleasant and easy but it isn't till you actually have a little one around in your life that you discover that really life isn't easy and no-one prepares you really for the actual experience of being a mother, the times when it throws a tantrum, it won't go to sleep and all it wants to do is play , when you try to feed him or her and they don't want it or hate the taste of it or even worse they just want to play with their food. How about the number of dirty nappies you go through and the attention that one must give to a baby even if you feel like crawling and hiding under a rock that day. However, with negatives comes the positives and the positives outweigh the negatives and bring forth the joy of being a mother.
Mother Jennifer Koontz has written a book about her experience as a mother and how her journey started at the local airport when her daughter was nine months old as Jennifer and her husband had adopted. Jennifer talks about the good times, the bad times and even some ugly times. 

This is a light-hearted look at parenting that also contains many practical suggestions for managing all of the supplies, advice, questions, and challenges that come along with being a parent. It is the definitive guide to raising a self-sufficient, well-mannered child, while keeping life in perspective and maintaining a sense of humor.
The main theme of the book is that parents are not alone in the land of Parenthood. All parents go through shades of the same issues sooner or later, and it is important to reach out and seek the wisdom that surrounds us. The sources of wisdom about parenting are boundless; they can be found in the most unlikely of places. One of the most important ways to learn about parenting is to listen to your children! Children are constantly communicating with us ~ we just need to learn how to understand them. 

Even when they don't speak, they are communicating. This book even includes a chapter that tells the reader what children wish their parents knew.
In addition, the author includes a tremendous resource for parents who may be struggling with children's behavioral issues. She presents the Privileges System, which she created for her own daughter after consulting many behavioral management sources. It does utilize counting but does not include the use of "time outs." The Privileges System doesn't cost anything to implement, and parents who commit to it will likely see results in a very short time. Koontz believes that the most important thing you can teach your child is that you truly mean what you say. You will earn the respect of a child by modeling respect, and the best way to teach kindness is by being kind.