Countless "How to Parent" books have been written that teach methods. They include tips on everything from bottles to books, diapers to allowance, fevers to siblings. This book is not one of them. For even the best of those books offer only relative truths and their prescriptions do not always apply to every child or even one child in a variety of situations. And often even the best advice is taken too far. Real LIFE Parenting aims to empower readers to find their own way and discover their own answers. RLP accomplishes this through a minimum of theory and advice, instead providing games, questionnaires and "Ponder Points" to give parents experiential learning. An extensive bibliography gives readers a chance to explore these concepts further and refine their approach. Readers begin by doing a multiple choice self-assessment of parenting situations and possible responses. This establishes our starting point. Chapter One guides readers to see that we must be real (present and authentic) in all our relationships in order to be effective and to fully enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer. In Chapter Two, Readers will consider common values and their personal values and be encouraged to question everything they thought they knew or that others are telling them is true. And that includes anything they read in this book. By questioning all of their answers and conventional wisdom, readers will find some false or outdated indoctrinations, old wives tales or ideas that are part of the shared legends of our culture but no longer valid in these times. Thus they can discard ideas and theories they find to be flawed or disproven and move toward a higher, more comprehensive truths, beyond rules to wisdom. Chapter Three introduces the L.I.F.E. system of evaluating an action: is it Loving, Intelligent, Fair and Empowering and then applies it to some typical parenting scenarios, including the Self-assessment questions. The aim is to enable readers to be better able to question and evaluate the advice of others whether coming from books, friends, relatives or strangers. Don't follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise -- Joan Rivers The purpose is to empower YOU to consult your own wisdom, your own unique combination of nature, nurture and spirit to come up with your own answers to parenting the child in front of you in this moment. The intention is to support you have the integrity to follow what you know to be true even when it "bucks the system" or draws dire warnings from your friends and relatives who are doing what "everyone knows" is best.