Excerpt from It's Not That Complicated by Doug Peine, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

It's Your Own Damn Fault

Obviously gum was not the issue. It was an enjoyable little perk, certainly, but what this little girl was mostly about was reaffirming her moral authority over her father. She made him squirm, and it was a fun way to pass a few otherwise boring moments.

Let us acknowledge the obvious: There is absolutely no excuse for allowing matters to deteriorate to such a point that we become ashamed of ourselves as parents. Especially when all we have to do is say "no" and mean it.

It's not that complicated.

©2002. All rights reserved. Reprinted from It's Not That Complicated by Doug Peine. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.