Whale Done Parenting: How to Make Parenting a Positive Experience for You and Your Kids, Oct/2009

• Based on actual killer whale training techniques
• Story format makes this an unusual and entertaining approach for a parenting book

“How is it they can get a killer whale to urinate on cue, and we can’t get our son to pee into the toilet?”

Most parents feel frustrated with their children from time to time, but killer whale trainer-in-training Amy Sheldrake has a unique perspective. She marvels at the complex behaviors her superiors are able to coax out of these enormous beasts, while she and her husband struggle to make their beloved – and much smaller – son Josh obey what seem like the simplest rules.

What does training killer whales have to do with raising children? As this engrossing and unique parenting fable shows, more than you’d think. In their New York Times bestseller Whale Done, Ken Blanchard and his coauthors – including two veteran marine mammal trainers – showed how positive training concepts used at places like SeaWorld could be adapted to the workplace. In this new book they apply these same principles to parenting. Once Amy and Matt get the hang of the five Whale Done principles, they see a dramatic difference in overcoming challenges like following bedtime routines, dealing with tantrums, introducing new foods, sharing, avoiding overuse of the word no, learning to care for a pet, and instituting time-outs.

The foundation of the Whale Done approach is respect. It emphasizes communication and praise rather than obedience and punishment – this is not some Pavlovian primer. Whale Done is much more than a set of techniques; it is a way of looking at people and seeing the best that is in them. Great leaders, saints, and sages have developed this skill. Since most of us are less advanced than those paragons, this book can serve as a guide for how to bring out the best in our children.

About The Authors:
Ken Blanchard has had an extraordinary impact on the day-to-day management of millions of people and companies. He is the author of several bestselling books, including the blockbuster international bestseller The One Minute Manager(R) In 2005 Ken was inducted into Amazon's Hall of Fame as #15 of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time. Ken lives, live in San Diego.

Thad Lacinak has more than 29 years of marine mammal training and management experience and is currently Vice President and Corporate Curator for one of America's foremost marine parks. Thad is cofounder of Behavior International, a company dedicated to teaching proactive positive reinforcement techniques to the public. Thad lives in Orlando, Florida. Chuck Tompkins is Vice President of Animal Training at SeaWorld Orlando.

Chuck Tompkins is a dynamic motivational speaker who shares his 25 years of personal experience training killer whales and tells audiences how those same techniques apply to motivating people. Chuck lives in Orlando, Florida.

Jim Ballard has written a number of inspirational books, including Mind Like Water and What's the Rush? He has coauthored several popular books along with bestselling business guru Ken Blanchard. Teachings of the world renown author and yogi Paramahansa Yogananda inspired Jim to write this wave fable. Jim lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.