Many moms feel guilty about screaming at their children but don't know how to stop. Ketterman says, Having grown up with a loving but screaming mother, I know the emotional damage it causes. Being a mother of three, I also know how easy it is to fall into the habit of screaming. From their research and personal and professional experience, Dr. Ketterman and Pat Holt share why mothers fall into the habit of yelling and what factors drive mothers to lose control.

Using real stories from real moms, they discuss examples of how screaming and anger affects children, and also the debilitating affects it has on moms. The authors challenge parents to look at their own anger and choose to react differently. Practical steps are given for more effective and positive ways to get children to do what they must do. The second part of the book offers commonsense answers to specific questions relating to all areas of child-rearing, from infancy through teens.