The Pocket Parent Coach

The Pocket Parent Coach
Tina Feigal, M.S. Ed.
Beaver’s Pond Press, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-59298-171-7
Non-Fiction, Parenting
Reviewed by Vianna Renaud

In this new and exciting resource book for parents, nationally acclaimed parent coach and trainer Tina Feigal, M.S., Edu., focuses on what she considers to be the most important treatment for child behavioral issues; that of the child’s own parents. Focusing on the parents of children from a variety of backgrounds including ADHD, ODD, autism, anxiety, giftedness, or no label at all, the end goal, and result, is on improving challenging behavior.
With the debate on the behavior of children growing more and more into a national topic of discussion, I was pleasantly surprised by Ms. Feigal’s direct, yet compassionate, approach. Organized in a step-by-step format, the book is divided into sections including the overview, your two-week guide, continuing past the first two weeks, troubleshooting real life challenges, using restorative justice, plus sections on resources for parents and personal parent coaching.
By not placing the primary focus on theory, I feel that the tone and layout of the book will greatly appeal to parents everywhere. I particularly enjoyed the focus on empowering parents to bring out the best in their children themselves, and not by relying on outside professionals to solve the problems. While outside help is sometimes needed, I liked how she put the primary responsibility on the parents. Parents will gain greater self-esteem and confidence while having a better understanding of parenting and helping their children with their difficult behavior. With a helpful CD as an additional resource, this book will no doubt help bring some answers and help to parents all around the world.