Product Description
Are you a Pinocchio Parent? You may be asking yourself these very questions: What lies, clichés, and half-truths do I tell my children? How do these lies hurt my children and my relationship with them? Clinical p… More >>
Pinocchio Parenting: 21 Outrageous Lies We Tell Our Kids
Written by admin on June 30th, 2010 in Parenting & Families.
Tags: Kids, Lies, Outrageous, Parenting, Pinocchio, Tell
Pinocchio Parenting is a wonderful book. The author provides simple, valuable insights and ideas that are easy to apply to real life. The 21 lies that the author points out that we often tell are kids are thought provoking, to say the least. I found that some were “lies” that I actually believed myself. While I didn’t agree that all were actually “lies”, Borsellino certainly gave me food for thought.
Learning to recognize and teach your kids the truth will be a valuable experience for the entire family. I highly recommend this book to anyone that deals with kids in anyway. It is a wonderful guide.
Rating: 5 / 5
Pinocchio Parenting is a truly exceptional book. The author has done extensive studies and provides simple, valuable insights and ideas that you can immediately apply. The 21 lies are profound and simply working on them with your kids will be an awesome experience/exercise. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has kids, teaches kids, or interacts with kids in any way. It is a wonderful playbook!
Rating: 5 / 5
I am a school administrator and teacher. One of my teachers shared a couple of pages of the book with me, and I immediately decided to buy my own copy. After reading it, I recommended it to all of my teachers. I will include concepts from Dr. Borsellino in my classes, including reading some of the stories to my students.
Rating: 5 / 5
In the introduction to Pinocchio Parenting, Dr. Borsellino says that “Smart people believe half of what they hear. Really smart people know which half to believe.” Remember Gepetto’s Pinocchio, the puppet which became a little boy? The more lies he told, the longer his nose grew. Well, the author is suggesting that each time we verbalize certain “outrageous lies,” we take on the aspects of this storybook character.
Perhaps we as parents have not looked at Dr. Borsellino’s listings as lies, but he presents a strong discourse on each one. He and his wife Jenni wrote How To Raise Totally Awesome Kids, and he has a nationally syndicated television program called At Home Live! with Chuck and Jenni, so his credentials seem to underlie his talking points.
The author lists the 21 different lies in chapter form, relating examples and giving his truths at the end. I have chosen a few of the most familiar chapter headings and revealing truths as enticements for reading this book.
The number 1 lie is: “You can be anything you want to be,” with his truth being: “You may not be able to be anything you want to be in life, but you can do the most you can with what you have and do it in a way nobody has ever seen before.” Number 5 in the listing is: “It Doesn’t Matter Whether You Win or Lose–It’s How You Play the Game,” with his truth listed as: “Winning isn’t everything–but it does matter. People keep score for a reason.” Number 11: “It’s Not What You Know but Who You Know That Counts,” with the truth being: “It’s not about what you know–or who you know. It’s what you do with what you know that matters most.” Number 14: “It Doesn’t Matter What You Do in Life, as Long as You’re Happy,” with the truth listed as: “Happiness isn’t a right. It’s a by-product of chasing your dreams and living your purpose.”
And, in listing a number 22, Dr. Borsellino lists “The Most Damaging Lie of all–The Lie We Tell Ourselves,” and that being that we don’t matter. His truth statement is: “Your life matters. You’re not insignificant, irrelevant, or inadequate. God believes in you. God values you and has a dream for you.”
The author has demonstrated his knowledge of psychological factors that play in the perpetuation of clichés that we have heard over the years, but he also shows the spiritual side. I had never thought of these statements as “outrageous lies,” when I had repeated some to my own children, so I believe this is a strong assessment. But, I would invite people to read this book and determine for themselves how “outrageous” their statements might have been. – Sharon I. Rideout, Christian Book [...]
Rating: 4 / 5
Dr. Borsellino has presented realistic and meaningful dialogue that can be used by parents guiding their children in making reasonable choices in their lives. The outlook presented makes sense and can also be used by anyone at anytime when
changing careers or making other signicant decisions. One may ask themselves why they had not previously thought of the information contained in the text. Nicely presented and easily understood. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 5 / 5