How to Help Children Survive Socially: Building Connection One Pep Talk at a Time
Social skills don’t always come naturally—and for some kids, navigating friendships, reading body language, or taking turns can feel like climbing a mountain with no map. Whether your child is shy, impulsive, anxious, or just figuring out how to “people,” I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them. is the compassionate guidebook you didn’t know you needed.
Franki, a seasoned expert in behavior with two decades of experience observing kids in classrooms and camps, knows what it looks like when a child flounders socially—and how much it can drain a parent’s energy. With warmth, humor, and refreshing honesty, she invites readers into her own messy, real-life journey raising three very different children. Her book offers no shame and no finger-wagging—just real tools to help your child grow into their social self, even if you’re running on coffee and fumes.
Inside this award-winning parenting survival guide, you’ll find strategies for helping kids build relationships, navigate social missteps, and develop empathy, all while honoring their unique personalities and challenges. Whether your child struggles with anxiety, ADHD, or sensory overload, or simply can’t seem to share Legos without a meltdown, Franki’s insights are accessible, bite-sized, and laced with humor. Each chapter ends with a handy summary—because life is busy, and sometimes five minutes is all you've got.
Parenting is hard. Social development is harder. This book makes both feel a little lighter—and a lot more hopeful.
Book Description:
Selected as Independent Authors' Network Book of the Year as the Outstanding Parenting Book and winner of the Literary Titan Gold Award, I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them, is the ultimate survival guide for parents living through one of the strangest times in history. This " how to guide" will support you even if you are exhausted and burnt out in improving your child(ren)'s behavior. Written by an expert with 20 years of experience in behavioral observation in the classroom, in overnight camp, and more. Franki's storyteller cadence helps the book to read as if it's a casual conversation and pep talk between two parents over coffee. Franki is raw, authentic, and honest about her own "mom fails" and what she has learned in her own little lab school, as she raises her three children.
Franki is a parenting expert in her own right with a Masters in Special Education and most of a Masters in Clinical Social Work (pandemic purchase!) at the time she wrote this book. However, you will hear no judgement in this author's advice as she lays out methods to help parents with all types of struggles from anxiety, ADHD and sensory difficulties, to raising siblings with competing needs, to learning when to let go and when to reach out to a professional.
Does your child struggle with age expected tasks and have difficulty socially, trouble focusing, managing school, listening to directions or with sibling relations? Is your family struggling because one of your children seems to consume all your parental energy? Are you overwhelmed when your child misbehaves (again)! This book was written to support all parents. Each chapter concludes with key points, in case you read in 5 minute increments between webinars and school pick up lines. Short, insightful, and funny! Because after all, parenting can be funny!
Amazon Customers say (summary of reviews), 4.8 stars, 71 reviews
Customers find the book valuable for parenting advice, with one noting its practical insights from a seasoned educator. Moreover, the book is easy to read, with one customer mentioning it reads like a friend is talking to you. Additionally, customers appreciate its humor, with one noting it makes them laugh out loud, and they value its personal and humble approach.
For more posts by and about Franki, click HERE.
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