Although I agree with much of what the author presents, and have put some ideas into practice, what I read was awfully anecdotal and specific to a select group of children.
Rating: 3 / 5

Most of the “playful parenting” ideas are targeted towards toddler/preschool through early elementary years, with very little beyond that age group.

More than half the book is about him and his daughter, or him and his child patients. Although I’m not sure how old his daughter is now, it seems like she was pretty young when he wrote the book; so we don’t know how what kind of person she grows up to be. He doesn’t really offer any long-term benefit of playful parenting, such as, will the child grow to be a respectful, functioning human being.

The children he “plays” with seem quite verbally abusive to him. He says that it is alright, go along with it because a 4 year old calling you poopyhead or idiot means that is how they feel. Instead of correcting them in a friendly way, turn it into a game where they continue to call you the bad name. What kind of advise is that? At what point in his playful parenting approach does the children learn positive social interaction and appropriate behavior?

It is a good book if you have little kids and you don’t know how to play with them, or have kind of a “stuffy” or overly strict personality, but beyond that, it might be better to look somewhere else for parenting advice.
Rating: 2 / 5