Excerpts from the book:
"Why do parents hit their children? Primarily because they were taught to treat children this way—by their own parents, because of religious teachings, and because they donÕt know another way to discipline. Most parents who hit their children were themselves hit as children (although many who were hit or spanked do not do this), and they are being loyal to the parents who mistreated them by insisting, "I got hit, and I turned out fine." My response to this is, how do you know you wouldn't have turned out as good or better if your parents had used more humane methods of behavior regulation? It is painful for any person who has been hit or spanked in childhood to face into this mistreatment and see it for what it was—violence against a child. This blindness to their childhood reality keeps many parents from changing their views about hitting or spanking."

"In fulfilling the daunting duties of parenting, mothers and fathers today are faced with powerful societal forces working against them, including television programming, the advertising industry, the music industry, inferior school systems, family economic stresses, corporate employment policies, cultural and religious traditions, and the Internet. Despite these rivals, parents will always be the most significant influence on their childrenÕs lives."

"Malinda Jo Muzi helps the reader, in clear, non-technical language, to recognize the opportunities and challenges that every parent must confront. She illustrates how gentle, patient, caring treatment of children during their formative years is the "magic pill" that put them on the right path for a lifetime."

"This book gets to the basics of parenting quickly and clearly. It's a "what-to-do-book" that every parent should read. Its guideposts will set parents on the right tract no matter what a child's age."