Book Review and Giveaway: Pills Are Not for Preschoolers by Marilyn Wedge

Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids by Marilyn Wedge
Published by W. W. Norton & Company
Pages: 244
Ages: Adult Non-Fiction
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Alibris | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository
Publishers Summary:

Where can parents turn when their child exhibits disturbing behavior and they want to avoid psychiatric labels and drugs? Pills Are Not for Preschoolers presents a much-needed alternative: child-focused family therapy a brief, effective approach that involves family members in the child ‘s therapy. A family therapist for more than twenty years, Marilyn Wedge treats children ‘s problems not as biologically determined disorders but as responses to relationships in their lives that can be altered with the help of a therapist. Parents can now respond to symptoms of ADHD, depression, and anxiety with respectful family prescriptives, not prescriptions and Wedge brilliantly shows us how easy it can be to understand and implement her pathbreaking approach.

Children and their families come in all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds and much more. As such the treatment for a young child who suddenly becomes overly aggressive, depressed, suicidal or any other “problem” should hardly be prescribed and identical. Within the pages of Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids, Marilyn Wedge addresses a number of situations and children with a vast variety of troubles. Each child requires attention and in most cases the family circle they come from does as well. Marilyn Wedge shares her wisdom and experience helping families through sometimes extremely difficult circumstances drug-free and with her excellent therapy skills.

When our son was around eighteen months old many of you know that he was diagnosed with Hyperlexia, an autism spectrum disorder. At the time I found it equally devastating and challenging. It wasn’t only that I wanted him to have a happy healthy childhood, but that I feared what that label would mean to him throughout his life and also worried how others might see him knowing this about him. Fortunately for us we had some incredible therapists at the time, determination on the part of his dad and myself, as well as the fact that Turkeybird was remarkably receptive when we worked one on one with him. Over the course of the last three or four years he’s distanced himself so much from his diagnosis that most people who meet him never guess he was ever labeled in his infancy. It’s been a tough road, but the work we’ve all put in has no doubt helped and will hopefully continue to help going forward.

What I loved about Marilyn Wedge’s approach in Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids was that it was so similar to what we had hoped to achieve with Turkeybird when he was young. We were determined to avoid medication at all costs, something Wedge is very much against except in the very most extreme cases where therapy simply does not help. We also hoped to work together with Turkeybird to change not only our behavior around and with him, but his reactions to situations as well. Wedge’s belief that children are affected by not only internal conflicts, but external situations and conflict is something I think we take for granted as parents. When working with Turkeybird early on it was surprising to see how frustrated he would become over the littlest activities, but I remember taking a step back a few times and realizing there was a very good chance he was mimicking my own behavior with him as I became overly frustrated that he wasn’t responding in certain ways I felt were appropriate. Who knew? Definitely not me, until that light blub moment.

As a new parent I honestly had no idea what to expect and half the time I’ve felt like I’m walking blindly into a battlefield without any protection or weapons. I think it’s reasonable for most parents to make mistakes while raising their kiddos, we’re only human. What I loved about Wedge’s approach was that we don’t need to take those little mistakes (the overheard parent conversations, a high stress job overflowing into home life, anxiety about finances, etc.) as personal flaws, but as something we can attack and work on to better our home environment as a whole. It was intriguing to see how those little mistakes add up in the eyes of a child and how they are magnified within their young minds. As I read Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids I also discovered how powerful the impact of positive reinforcement within the home can be. Simple steps like sharing a positive experience with your child each day or telling them something positive about themselves each day can dramatically change their lives, and I’d venture to guess yours as well. All of these little things add up over time and it’s important to recognize how intelligent and observant those kiddos in our families truly are.

There’s so much more to this valuable resource for parents, teachers and medical professionals that I’m simply leaving out. Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids by Marilyn Wedge provides sound proof that children can have their mental health drastically improved through carefully selected family therapy combined with an open and receptive family unit, no matter it’s size or varying geography. This is a book I’d readily recommend to parents with children regardless of their child’s mental health currently. As parents we need all of the tools we can gather in our toolbox to enable our children to be happy and thriving in their environments and Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids by Marilyn Wedge is certainly one of those must-have tools.

The1stdaughter Recommends: Perfect for parents, caregivers, teachers and medical professionals who live or with kiddos on a regular basis. This is an invaluable tool to help children and their families live happy and successful lives.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher and author of Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids I have one copy to giveaway to There’s A Book readers! To enter this second week giveaway fill out the rafflecopter entry form below and good luck!

Find Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids by Marilyn Wedge at the following spots:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Alibris | Powell’s Books | Indiebound | Book Depository | Goodreads

Follow the rest of the TLC Book Tour for Pills Are Not for Preschoolers: A Drug-Free Approach for Troubled Kids by Marilyn Wedge:
Tuesday, August 28th: Just Joanna
Wednesday, Augut 29th: Family Volley
Thursday, August 30th: Attention Deficit Whatever
Friday, August 31st: Two Bears Farm and the Three Cubs
Monday, September 3rd: Child in Mind
Tuesday, September 4th: Family Dysfunction and Mental Health Blog
Wednesday, September 5th: Earnest Parenting
Friday, September 7th: Here’s to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire
Tuesday, September 11th: Gone Bookserk
Tuesday, September 18th: Surviving the Madhouse
Friday, September 21st: Misbehavin’ Librarian

Thank you so much to the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, for providing a copy of this book for review in conjunction with TLC Book Tours and author Marilyn Wedge! Connect with them on Twitter and on Facebook! Connect with author Marilyn Wedge on Twitter and Facebook as well!
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