Ok so I just got done reading this book, and I have to say I was not as impressed with it, as so many others are. It is supposed to be a guide to raising healthy black children. I really found very little practicle advice. It was mostly what people thought and how that's not true. It also had a lot on how most black parents are much tougher on their kids than white parents. It addressed spanking and how damaging that is for children and time out was one of the suggested ways to teach your children. Let me let you in on a secret all time out does is give a child a chance to calm down It does no teaching. With spanking it talks about how black parents beat their children just within the law, not leaving marks, so the children don't get taken away by social services. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm just not buying that people really calculate that. Anyway I mostly thought it was a book telling black parents what a poor job they are doing raising there children which I don't agree with. I have seen many more white parents "abuse" there children just under the law than black. (off course I have had contact with a lot more white families than black.) Honestly of the black mothers and grandmothers I have known and witnessed there child rearing techniques, from very low income, to upper middle class (which have probably been about 50) I new a great grandmother raising her 3 grandchildren under 3 that was 80+ years that didn't engage them in hardly anything, but she fed them, kept them clean, made sure they had their rest, and another family who was very low income and exposed their children to a lot of things that were not good. But I have hundreds of stories of white and other race parents who have abused there children. (again I have witnessed probably thousands of white people's parenting techniques)
The good that I got out of the book was the stages of children and how they understand race, and looking back on my daughters life I did feel these were pretty acurrate. Her alternatives for spanking such as natural consequences, adding jobs, taking away priviledges were also good.
Overall I do not think I would recommend it, there must be better books out there.
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