I'm Gretchen Ribbon and this is a little happier.

My very favorite book about parenting is actually a book that applies not just to parents and children,

but to all relationships.

I've read this book several times and I've applied its principles to every aspect of my life.

I love this book because not only is it full of terrific insights,

it's also so well written that it's a pleasure to read.

The book is How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele,

Faber, and Elaine Mazlish.

I love many of the books by these authors,

especially siblings without rivalry, but this is my favorite.

I remember many of the examples of the book, but there's one passage that stands out in my mind

most clearly. In its simplicity, I find that I think of it often.

I think of it so often, in fact, that I have a mental shorthand for it.

I just think juice story.

And that's all I need to do to remember the entire lesson.

So here, from How to Talk, so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk,

comes the juice story.

It's the opening of chapter five on praise.

Once upon a time there were two seven-year-old boys named Bruce and David.

They both had mothers who loved them very much.

Each boy's day began differently.

The first thing Bruce heard when he awakened in the morning was,

...