8 SIMPLE TOOLS FOR RAISING GREAT KIDS
“I love my child, but parenting is hard!”
Whether you find parenting intuitive or impossible, we could all use a hand here and there. Let child psychologist and father Todd Cartmell walk you through the nuts and bolts of healthy, effective parenting. Using examples from his home and 20 years of clinical practice, Todd gives eight essential and practical tools to help you:
-Maintain a healthy relationship with your child -Develop a nurturing home culture -Correct behavior in lasting ways
Designed for busy parents, 8 Simple Tools breaks each tool into five short chapters that include a summary tip and application questions. Use even half of the tools in your parenting, and you’ll help your child flourish and your family thrive.
Endorsements:
8 Simple Tools is intensely practical, easy to read, heartwarming, and downright funny. You need a proven game plan for raising healthy kids who will grow up into great adults–and this is it! Arlene Pellicane, author of 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Mom and Growing Up Social.
Todd Cartmell has crafted a fabulous go-to manual for parents in 8 Simple Tools. Full of relevant examples, helpful advice, and practical tips, this book will empower you to build solid relationships with your kids and strengthen your family bond. Karen Ehman, New York Times bestselling author and Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker. Wife and mom of three.
There’s nothing simple about parenting, but it’s certainly easier if you are equipped for the job! Todd Cartmell knows what parents need and he’s shared it on the pages of this book. . I’m grateful for such a practical, easy-to-read resource for parents! Jill Savage, mom of five, coauthor of No More Perfect Kids.
What a concept! A book for moms and dads that’s fun to read. With lots of fresh wisdom and welcome encouragement. Jay Payleitner, conference speaker and bestselling author of 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad and What If God Wrote Your Bucket List?
KEEP THE SIBLINGS, LOSE THE RIVALRY
“Those kids are driving me NUTS!”
Had it up to here with kids who squabble and fight? Do something about it! Drawing on biblical principles and sibling research, Dr. Todd Cartmell gives you a ten-step plan for dealing positively and effectively with sibling rivalry. So put an end to the bickering and help your kids cultivate good relational skills. Your home can become a place that encourages respectful sibling relationships in kids of all ages.
Keep the Siblings, Lose the Rivalry is more than informative-it’s action-oriented and it’s fun! The fifteen ready-to-use Family Time Discussion Guides inside include powerful object lessons using Post-It notes, tennis balls, tasty treats, and even stinky socks. With role-plays, Scripture references, and interactive discussion questions, this book will help draw your family close and improve your children’s skills at handling sibling conflict productively.
Practical, down-to-earth, and leavened with dry humor, Keep the Siblings, Lose the Rivalry will equip you to bring harmony to even the toughest sibling challenges.
PROJECT DAD
Every dad wants to be a great dad. But what does it take to build a great dad? What raw materials does one need? And how do you put them all together?
Designed for the do-it-yourselfer in every man, Project Dad is a humorous, biblically based guidebook to becoming a great dad.
With short, entertaining chapters that cover five key components, this guidebook encourages fathers to raise their children with a renewed sense of purpose in order to positively impact them in their adult life.
Cartmell shows dads that the way they look at, talk to, connect with, act toward, and lead their children is what separates a good dad from a great dad.
Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book ideal for individual or group study.
Endorsements:
“Some dad books make me feel guilty and inadequate; this one made me inspired, motivated, and equipped to be that dad I long to become. It is fun, biblical, practical, and filled with the kind of help that takes good intentions and turns them into reality.”–Chip Ingram, president of Living on the Edge; author of Holy Ambition: Turning God-Shaped Dreams into Realty
“My husband and I both agree that this is one of the best dad books out there. Todd Cartmell has pulled together a practical, easy-to-read how-to book for dads. With the perfect blend of honesty, humor, and practical takeaways, this is a book every dad can–and should–read.”–Jill Savage, CEO of Hearts at Home; author of Real Moms . . . Real Jesus
“Every dad wants to do well. In Project Dad, my friend Todd Cartmell lays out a practical path to confident, successful parenting. With plenty of humor and insightful advice, he’ll encourage you to embrace God’s work in your life and to become the father your children need–and that God intended.”–John Fuller, broadcaster and author of First Time Dad
RESPECTFUL KIDS
Our main role as a parent is that of a trainer, not a disciplinarian. Now, discipline is an important part of training, to be sure. But discipline is only one part of training, not the whole enchilada. And, like Jimmy’s parents, many of us mistakenly focus too much on discipline, relying on negative consequences as our primary tactic rather than teaching and motivating our children to be respectful. This is the biggest strategic mistake we can make. Not only does it take our time and energy from other valuable training approaches, it also reduces our effectiveness in the long run.
My goal in this book is to help you bring out the best in your child by refocusing your parenting efforts on training your child to be respectful. You’re already familiar with sports coaches, business coaches, success coaches, and life coaches. Well, we’re adding a new one to the list: You’re going to become your child’s respect coach.
Respectful Kids will serve as your coach’s handbook, complete with everything you need in order to help your child win at the game of respect. In the chapters to follow, you’ll learn how to put into action a simple step-by-step plan for teaching your child to handle any family situation respectfully. This plan incorporates three simple yet extremely effective training strategies to increase your child’s respectful behavior while simultaneously decreasing your child’s disrespectful behavior. And as you’ll see, two-thirds of our efforts will rely on training that takes place before the problem rather than simply reacting to the problem when it happens.
Endorsements:
“Dr. Todd Cartmell encourages parents to deliver encouragement with a bazooka. Pour it on and watch for the Respectful Results.”–Kendra Smiley, popular conference speaker; author of Be The Parent: Seven Choices You Can Make to Raise Great Kids
“Brimming with wise counsel, practical exercises, and focused purpose, this excellent guide transcends all others I have seen. Helpful for not only parents but teachers as well.”–Archibald D. Hart, Ph.D., FPPR, dean emeritus and senior professor, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Respectful Kids provides solid principles and sound techniques in a humorous, accessible, practical way that makes good parenting within reach for all of us! Parents will feel empowered and hopeful that they can become the kind of parent they have always aspired to be.”–Terri S. Watson, Psy.D., associate professor of psychology, Wheaton College; licensed clinical psychologist
Dr. Todd Cartmell 