The following statements have been made about the book Parenting on Purpose: Red Yellow Green Framework for Respectful Discipline.

"A systemized approach to common sense! Too often parenting results in one forgetting his or her common sense." Dr. Ta Ling Lee. Parent, Grandfather, Professor Emeritus, Connecticut University

With five children at home ranging in ages from thirteen to one, it is conservative to say that my house is busy. Five individuals complete with their own likes, dislikes, wants, needs and temperaments. I have struggled to find a discipline technique that was non threatening, fair, and effective for all of my children. The framework given for the Red Yellow Green Zones is simple, easy to remember, and flexible. I love the thought of raising my children to be able to make positive choices as adults.

The simplicity of the concepts makes them easy to apply to a number of other professional fields. Social workers, treatment foster care parents, those working with developmentally disabled persons, teachers and therapists are only a few. I believe any profession that requires respectful communication with others could utilize the concepts.
Jennifer Andres - Parent, County Social Worker

The Red Yellow Green Framework is a tool to help parents determine what is important for them as a family. What do they want for their child and their family? How can they embrace the individual in their child? This will look different for a child with special needs. I think it will help the family see all the things their child can do, building the self-esteem of the child and the family. The Red Yellow Green Framework requires that the parents communicate with each other about expectations and parenting. The framework is easy to explain and easy to remember, so when things are not going smoothly they have a tool that is easy to use. What I also like about this framework, is that other parenting techniques can fit into it to meet the needs of each family.
Lynn Stanoch - Parent - Special Education Teacher

There are many roles in my life that will benefit from my reading of this book. I am a parent, a child educator, an assistant director of a child care center and a future parent educator. The book was easy to read and it was clearcut how I could implement this framework into my own life both in a personal and a professional manner. The book helped me to "pull it all together." It provides a clear focus to follow for people who live with or work with children. The book's preface states that parents "need to be purposeful about raising their children." I think that this book will help me to clarify what my goals and values are for my family. What are the goals and life skills that I want my children to learn, to grow up with and to make a part of their everyday life? I had tried in the heat of the moment to turn to a book and look up what I should do in response to a behavior that my child had exhibited. This does not work very well at all. I can remember red, green, and yellow without having to look it up.

Using this framework at the child care center that I work at will work wonderfully. It will help our staff to be consistent with discipline, with what our rules and philosophies are and with being able to teach these guidelines to the children that attend there. This framework will also be very beneficial when working with the parents. It will show to them specifically what we do consider appropriate and what we do not without being accusatory to the parents. We do no want to blame them but enlist their help, knowledge and skill in working with their child. We want to enhance the teacher-parent communication lines that we already have. We want to be consistent with what we do at the center and what the parents do at home.

The yellow zone is a great practice field for children. Once we start implementing this framework, I can envision the staff encouraging the children to do more problem solving on their own and making more of their own choices about various aspects of their day. The yellow zone helps to raise children who learn to be accountable for their own choices and actions.
Tiffany Glaser - Parent, Early Childhood Teacher, Child Care Program Director

Parenting on Purpose: Red Yellow Green Framework for Respectful Discipline is a concrete and understandable message about the importance of structure, consistency, and relationship in families and organizations. I have taught parent education classes for 18 years. Through discussion and processing, parents have found their way to a more satisfying parenting place. The Red Yellow Green Framework will be a book study that will create discussion and put a visual with the importance of teamwork, consistency and relationships in families.

The Red Yellow Green Framework would be valuable in training staff about rules and boundaries in the work place. It would be great for child care providers, foster parents, group homes and probation officers. It is a way to simplify expectations and rules respectfully. Relationships including good communication, trust, respect, responsibility, and interconnectedness are a reality with Red Yellow Green.
Connie Good - Parent, ECFE Program Administrator

Since primary colors (red, yellow and green) are learned early in life and are easy to understand children can associate them with concepts (yes and no) as they apply colors to behaviors. The structure red Yellow and green was very easy to apply to my therapy sessions. I used this schema with a fourteen year old client who has Downs syndrome and functions at a cognitive age of five or less. Prior to this color structure he would grunt, climb under benches, wink, growl, and had many other inappropriate behaviors. After three sessions of signing/verbalizing the concept of no and showing a red card when inappropriate behaviors were present, his behaviors seemed to diminish. The positive reinforcement of the green card kept him on track when he looked for approval. In knowing what was expected of him he could choose the right behavior which is the yellow zone. The therapy goals were much easier to accomplish without the distractions. The down side to all of this is the parent did not watch me during sessions. For example, when he would arrive at the clinic before the session he would say No No No to me and willingly come with me, which his mother never quite understood. At the end of the session we would walk to the bench and he would sit up straight and proud. Before I used the Red Yellow Green cue cards, he would always crawl under the benches. It was obvious that because of my use of the respectful discipline Red Yellow Green Framework, he would not display those atrocious behaviors in front of me.

James Coleman states that what happens in the home is twice as important as what happens in school settings. This makes absolute sense. My two hours a week have no comparison to the mother's influence. In order for the mother to practice these concepts at home, I suggested that she read the text.
Brian Peterson -Speech Therapist, Graduate Student

Using the Red, Yellow Green Framework puts all of us in one household on the same page. It is what we believe is right and wrong. It guides decisions which are in the best interest for individuals, family members and others in our lives. The Red, Yellow Green Framework encourages time for family togetherness during family meetings. It is the best built-in, free of charge therapist and life-coach for all ages. The Red, Yellow, Green Framework is sort of like the yellow brick road. Follow it and they'll always want to go back home.
Polly Trandahl- Parent, Elementary School Teacher