A book review of:
By: Amy Simpson, Paula Kohrt, Linda M. Shadoin, Joni Cook-Griffin, & Jane L. Peterson
Published by: BoysTown Press, 2nd Edition, 2010
Reviewed by Kayla Meyerhoff , Augustana College student
This book was written by Boys Town’s in-home family services staff. Within the book, there are helpful lists that address these skill areas: communication, relationships, education, housing, medical and mental health needs, money management, child supervision, formal and informal support, nutrition, abuse, stress, home safety, and community safety. The authors contend that parents and caregivers must be able to handle many different life skills in order to maintain a safe, healthy household for children. This book can help professionals teach those life skills and use them as assessment and planning tools.
As a young adult, still in college, I found that this book would benefit more than just professionals trying to incorporate life skills. I found that I benefited from reading this book. I think all parents, eager to respond to the needs of their maturing children, may find the resources useful, too.
A couple of the skills useful for me were the money management and the housing skills. The section on money management included lists on how to set up a budget, apply for jobs, open a checking account, save money, and pay bills and even how to shop for bargains. Also, I found the life skills about housing to be insightful. The book specifically focuses on the problem of homelessness or needing to find different housing but I found myself thinking, “I can make use of this when it is time for me to shop for a house.” The authors address issues of how to find a house, sign a lease, get utility services started, notifying others of a change of address, and how to handle landlord disputes.
For newly married couples, they could read the section on relationships and communication. The book talks about how to strengthen the relationship with your spouse, and how to improve relationships with your children.
Overall, I thought the book was a very helpful resource not only for professionals but for foster families, newly married couples, new parents, and even young adults. I liked the CD-ROM that allows you to print skills sheets to use as checklists, make notes, and list resources. Perhaps one of the best parts of the book was the expanse of resources at the back of the book that addressed each of the skills sets.
Buy this book
