Two Fabulous Books for Preschoolers and Their Parents

As the mother of a preschooler I have my fair share of battles when it comes to bedtime. Dawson is four years old today, and for the last 2 1/2 years, he's been sleeping in bed with my husband and me.

It's my own fault, really. When he was about 18 months old, I suffered a back injury and couldn't lift Dawson to put him to sleep in his crib. So, on the nights my husband worked late, I'd bring him in bed with me because it was easier. Big mistake. The child can't sleep without his father or me next to him.

Luckily for me, the Parent Bloggers Network asked me to check out two really great books, Ready for the Day! and Ready for Bed!, both by Stacey R. Kaye, and illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba. These books are written with parents and children in mind.

Each story is realistic, and rings true for parents and kids alike, and the books highlight easy to use techniques in color-coded text. Not only is the story interesting for children, there's a section at the back of the book that explains the language of positive parenting.

Ready for the Day! teaches children how get ready each morning without stress (for parent and child), and helps kids learn to be respectful and teaches parents how to replace the begging, bribing and brawling with positive parenting.

Ready for Bed! is my favorite. I was getting tired of the crying, whining and temper tantrums that were happening before bedtime (both Dawson's and mine), and we began reading the book several weeks ago.

After a week of reading the stories, I noticed more cooperation on Dawson's part. But even more amazing was that I noticed I was willing to be more patient with my son. So often I felt like I constantly had to "put my foot down" when it came to setting limits. It was my way or the highway, which really didn't encourage Dawson to follow instructions or obey his parents.

Ready for Bed! and Ready for the Day! offers solid advice for parents such as offering choices, give encouragement, and validate feelings. It's important for our children to know that we were kids once, too, and that we know how they feel. This encourages cooperation and children become more calm and less likely to start a screaming tantrum.

I especially love the dialogue coded in blue throughout each book. The color-coded text are things parents can say to their children to encourage cooperation.

These books are from Free Spirit Publishing, a company that believes in meeting kids' social and emotional needs. Other great books can be discovered by visiting the publisher's website, www.freespirit.com.