Review: Keep it Real and Grab a Plunger by Julie K. Nelson

 

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Keep it Real and Grab a Plunger 

by Julie K. Nelson

176 pages

Published March 10th 2015 by Cedar Fort, Inc. 

Genre: Parenting/Non-fiction

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Source: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

Description: As a popular blogger, a college professor, and a frequent parenting guest expert on TV, you might suspect Julie K. Nelson is immune to the realities of actual parenting. But in fact, she’s been there—through all the late nights, huge messes, and tough moments.

Now she combines her expertise with her experience as a mom of five in this entertaining and pragmatic book. Learn how to overcome your natural manipulative, authoritarian tendencies and foster your child’s self-discipline, respect, and emotional maturity.

Humorous, insightful, and authentic, this book will get you through the sticky stuff with grace so you can enjoy those parenting moments that make it all worth it.

My Review: What really caught my eye is the words at the bottom--"surviving parenthood." Parenting isn't easy at all and this author has a unique way of combining fact with great teaching moments and wrapping it all up with a dash of humor. I have four kids, ranging from 9 - 16, yet I learned some techniques that will definitely make the way I parent better.

I love how each chapter is cleverly named--titles such as, "Keep It Real...and Put Down the Pop-Tarts." I never would have thought of praise as something like a pop-tart, yet it's explained in a way that makes sense. My personal preference is that the chapters would have gone in "order." There's a chapter on values, one on potty training, teenagers, kindergarten readiness, and even co-parenting after divorce. For the most part, the order really doesn't matter, but going from teenagers to kindergarten was a bit of a mind jump for me.

Since my biggest parenting struggles right now are with teenagers, I really enjoyed that chapter and the advice found there. There were little snippets throughout the other chapters that could apply to me and my family, but it's nice to have one spot to really sit and ponder on.

A lot of the information isn't earth shattering news, yet it's presented in a way that encourages a new way of viewing things. I would recommend it!

  
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About the Author:
Julie K. Nelson is the author of "Parenting With Spiritual Power." She is a wife and mother of five children, raising them in Illinois and now Utah. She received a bachelor’s degree in education from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from Utah State University in marriage, family and human development. Her scholarly research and creative writing have been published in journals and anthologies, and she has won numerous state and national awards for her writing. Julie has enjoyed teaching children in public and private schools and currently teaches at Utah Valley University.

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