What Were You Thinking?: A Story About L

and it's a bit too long.... especially for kids with ADHD, they lose interest

I read this to my 6 year old to help reinforce his own personal awareness with topics that he struggles with or to help prevent a struggle due to his ADHD. Being aware of what we need to work on is the first step to making changes and hopefully by doing this we can prevent our children from future frustrations and disappointments within themselves. It is easier to mold them into respectful, responsible children at a younger age than it will be to break bad habits later on in life. With that said this book is one of many that we read as our "self help" kinda books. Every night I choose 1 book to add to the mix of his own book choices, depending on what I am trying to make him aware of and teach him coping skills in regards to things he struggled with that day or week. I hope this list is helpful. I know I always LOVE finding someone’s review that lists more great books on these kind of topics as I am always looking for more resources!This is a list of a few of my personal favorites age range about 4-8Helping kids about making good choices:• That Rule Doesn't Apply to Me! (Responsible Me!)• But It's Not My Fault! (Responsible Me!)• What Were You Thinking? Learning to Control Your Impulses (Executive Function)• My Mouth Is a Volcano! (talking over/interrupting people)• What If Everybody Did That? (environmental awareness)• LarryBoy and the Foolish Fig from Faraway (making good choices when friends aren’t)• The Berenstain Bears Show Some Respect (talking nice to others)• The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores• Squirmy Wormy: How I Learned to Help Myself (more autism focused)• God, I Need to Talk to You about…. Series (very short and to the point! from child’s point of view)Lying, Bad Manners, Whining, Laziness, Sharing, Stealing, My Bad Temper, Paying Attention, Hurting Others, Disrespect, Greed, vandalism, bad words, being a bad sport, video games, bullying, cheating, homework, healthy eating.Helping kids handle their anger:• Mad Isn't Bad: A Child's Book about Anger (Elf-Help Books for Kids)• I Just Don't Like the Sound of No! My Story About Accepting No for an Answer and Disagreeing the Right Way! (Best Me I Can Be) (WE LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!)• Angry Octopus: An Anger Management StoryHelping Kids keep themselves safe: In all reality we aren’t always around to keep our kids safe, but we can give them the tools they need to handle themselves if a situation arises.• A Little Book About Safety (teaches kids exactly what to do in case they get lost) (WE LOVE THIS BOOK!! Perfect for 3-5yr olds, special needs children, ALL CHILDREN)Please read these books before reading them to your child ensure they are age/maturity level appropriate. I chose just a few pages here or there when my son was 4 as a preventative measure.• An Exceptional Children's Guide to Touch: Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids (Good book to help discuss a difficult topic! I have passed this book around to many friends! Awareness is key to Prevention)• I Said No! A kid-to-kid guide to keeping your private parts private• My Body Belongs to MeHelping kids Learn about God and teaching good Morals to live by (VeggieTales)• Every Day with God: 365 Daily Devos for Boys• Growing Day by Day: 365 Daily Devos for BoysHelping Kids learn responsibility with money:• Junior's Adventures: the Boxed Set• The Berenstain Bears' Dollars and Sense• Financial Peace JuniorParent books: I have read over 30 books and these are the ones I liked• Raising Boys With ADHD: Secrets for Parenting Healthy, Happy Sons (LOVE this book, great resources. I have been using it for 3 years now. It is categorized by age and the challenges that come with that age)• Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach (APA Lifetools)• Smart Money Smart Kids: Raising the Next Generation to Win with Money• Driven to distraction• The strong willed child• Parenting isn’t for cowards (I just started reading but seem good so far)

This book has gentle encouragement for children who are struggling with self control. It opened up several good discussions for my 7 year old and me.

I purchased it for a 6 year old but maybe for an older child

I read a lot of reviews saying that the guilt tripping is too much and too repetitive for kids, however, those people have not met my kids. My children do not think about how their awful behaviors affect those around them. I try to be consistent with rules, expectations, and structuring the day, but their impulse control is non-existent. This book really got their attention surrounding whether what they did made things better or worse for everyone else AND themselves. They ask me to read this book to them and I’m so glad I bought it because it’s definitely making a difference. My children come from a severe case of abuse from my ex and in this case I would absolutely say you need more drastic measures for the child to relearn how they’re supposed to function in life and how their choices affect others. This book may not be for everyone, but it’s made a difference for us. Sometimes you need the repetition so that it really sticks. I especially love the part about the cupcakes because the last 4 cakes I’ve made, they stuck their hands in and destroyed them before they were even cooled, less than 5 minutes after coming out of they oven! They were definitely raising eyebrows at that page realizing the gravity of ruining our desserts before they even had frosting! I recommend this book for extreme impulse control cases!