Book Review: Listen by Patty Wipfler and Tosha Schore

Listen: Five Simple Tools To Help You Meet The Everyday Challenges of Parenting by Patty Wipfler and Tosha Schore is an excellent introduction to the Hand in Hand Parenting approach. The book clearly outlines the five Hand in Hand listening tools: Listening Partnerships, Special Time, Playlistening, Staylistening and Setting Limits. 

These simple yet profound parenting tools give parents the strategies they need to implement the theory of gentle, attachment-based parenting in their families. 

The book is infused with stories from a diverse range of parents about how they have used the tools to support their parenting challenges. These anecdotes bring the tools to life and give practical examples of how the Hand in Hand Parenting approach can help your family. So many parenting books focus on the theory of attachment parenting but lack the practical ways in which you can implement this style of parenting into your interactions with your child.  

As well as describing the principles of the five listening tools, "Listen" dedicates Part 3 of the book to everyday parenting challenges including mealtimes, sharing, screens, separation anxiety, bedtime, nail biting and thumb sucking, fear of medical procedures, hitting and biting and siblings. These examples of common challenges show the reader how to use the tools to help their children move through specific issues. 

Patty Wipfler, founder of Hand in Hand Parenting, brings her warmth and deep sense of compassion to this book. This is even more apparent on the Audible version read by Patty herself. Her soothing words in your ears are a balm to the worry and frustrations of parenting small children day in, day out. Patty really gets that. She has been there, raised her children and developed these tools based on what she learned from years of experience. 

If you are interested in parenting in a respectful way that nurtures your relationship with your child and helps you grow as a parent, then this is the only parenting book you will need!

If you want the practical support to implement these tools into your day to day parenting, then sign up to one of my courses here.