I read this book when ds was quite small
I think a lot of people may have some issues around her views on breastfeeding but I do think some of her stuff is useful to bear in mind.
Ds cried a lot as a baby and this approach did help me deal with it (sometimes).
I have found the ethos particularly useful in dealing with ds's tantrums (he seems to be having less of them nowadays). I usually take him into a room (if I can, shut the door and stay with ds trying to be sympathetic and assuring him that I love him and that I can see he is angry at the moment etc.
I do stop him from hitting me (if I can) and I don't let him have what he is asking for. In fact I have noticed that a lot of tantrums with ds are not about having things anyway.
e.g
Me 'Time for your bedtime story'
DS ' Don't want story'
Me 'Ok, well then it's bedtime without a story'
DS ' WANT STORY'
Me ' Alright - which one'
DS 'You choose'
Me - choose a story
DS' don't want that one !!!'
Me ' Then you choose'
Ds 'Can't choose you choose'
Me - Choose a story
Ds 'Don't want that one!!! wahhhh'
Repeated a few times with ds throwing books for good measure a few times.
At this point it becomes clear that ds is looking for a boundary and wants to bash against it. So I say something like 'OK no story then it's time for bed' This will often result in a tantrum about wanting a story/drink - whatever I've refused.
What this book did was help me see the tantrum in a differnt light. I can see that in these situation ds is desperate for an opportunity to scream and rant. I find looking at it like this makes me much calmer and I generally find his (often spectacular) tantrums quite easy to deal with actually.
He also often falls asleep after a tantrum and often wakes up calmer and a much easier child to deal with for a day or so afterwards so her poiints about that seem quite valid a lot of the time.
I am particularly lucky that ds seems to have most of his tantrums at home
Like all these books though I don't agree with everything she says and I just take the bits that fit with my ethos anyway,