Three weeks or so ago, I received a copy of the book entitled Got An Angry Kid? By Andrew D. Gibson Ph. D. and I couldn’t be more blessed. Quite honestly, I couldn’t believe how blessed I am to have received it at a time when I needed “something” to guide me, at a time when I’m having difficulties parenting my toddler, to say the least. I really really feel that this a timely blessing because I am currently in a very challenging stage with my three-year old.

So what is this book about? The Got An Angry Kid? book features a self-help program called Parenting Angry Children and Teens or PACT. It is aimed to help parents parent their seemingly “unparentable” kids or kids with behaviour issues. From my point of view, the program is based on love, love, love and love that will manifest into tolerance and understanding. But its three basic goals are as follows: (1) No yelling;(2) No showing of anger; (3) No failure to distract yourself so your annoyance doesn’t turn into yelling or anger. There are 25 more goals to do over a period of time.

Ironically, although it focuses more on what a parent must NOT do, it is practically pulsating of positivity -which is the main reason why I developed immediate affinity to it. It asserts that we all have taught (and are still teaching) our kids on how to treat us and how they should treat others. Sometimes, these may not be too good habits but as the program clearly advocates, fortunately, WE CAN unteach and undo them.

Remember this particular post not too long ago? I haven’t been too specific but there have been incidents when my son, according to the teacher, manifests aggression and anger in school. I was confused and honestly frustrated with the report. I mean, every parent wants their kids to be obedient, well-behaved and nice.

To clear things up, my son is not “unparentable” or out-of-control. Definitely. On the contrary, he is sweet and smart and thoughtful. My son Matt is a good boy but he has his frustrations and confusions (from what I understand), too. Of course, I understand that at three years old, this must be just a stage my son is passing through. But when I’ve read this wonderful book by Gibson, I am more enlightened to what is happening and from what I gather, to what may happen if I just sit and rationalize and continue with some bad habits. I realized we have to work on how my son feels but I also have to work on myself as a parent because I absolutely do NOT want my son to turn into Spike, the “antihero” of the Got An Angry Kid book who is miserable and angry (and a lot more!). I certainly want him to grow up to be a loving, happy, secured and understanding individual that he is destined to be. Yes, I’ve tried to do my best as a parent but I made some mistakes and I own up to them.

So now it’s time to roll up the sleeves and do something - and it all starts with ME, with us at home. So I’ve willingly submitted myself to the program called PACT (parenting angry children and teens) — even if it would seem to others that there isn’t a need to do that. But because I want the best for my son and I want to be the best parent for him, I’m really, really trying hard to do things the right way and to learn the ropes of “undoing” things - slowly, one step at a time. And thanks to this practical book for showing me some answers.

Special thanks to ParentReviewers for this wonderful book.