"Good job!" -- "Who's a big boy?" -- "You're so cute!" -- "Give grandma a kiss!" -- "Be careful!" -- "Can you say thank you?" -- "Share!" -- "Say sorry!" -- "Tickle, tickle tickle" -- "You're okay!" -- "Behave yourself!" -- "I said, right now!" -- "Do you want a time out?" -- "Do you want a spanking?"

"Imagine if every time you praise your child with "Good job!" you're actually doing more harm than good, offering meaningless approval instead of actually engaging with your child? Or that insisting "Can you say thank you?" is exactly the wrong way to go about teaching manners? Jennifer Lehr is a smart, funny, fearless writer who takes on "parentspeak" and, in the process, offers a conscious, compassionate approach to parenting"--