Personality plays a key role in first-time author Susan
Crook's parenting book "Personality Insights For Moms."
To manage their children well, parents must first
understand their personalities and their children's
personalities, Crook said Friday.
"We naturally assume our child should act like us, but
that's not how we are created. We are not created the
same," she said.Individuals can be outgoing or
reserved, she said. Some need detail, others just the
bottom line and some do things the fast way, the fun
way, the traditional way or the correct way.
Crook studied and trained to use the DICS model of
personality assessment that psychologist William Moulton
Marston developed in 1928. She received certification as
a human behavior consultant in 2000.
Crook said each letter stands for a personality type.
D, for example, stands for driven, decisive, demanding,
dominant and other traits, and I stands for interactive,
influencing, involved and other qualities. Individuals
can be high or low within each category.
In parenting, Crook said, a high C mother, for
example, who is competent, conscientious and careful may
resent the fact her high I child, who is outgoing and
loves to be with friends, cannot sit down to do
homework.
"Mom wonders what's wrong, why the child cannot think
like her, cannot sit down and get the homework done,
follow the rules, focus on getting things done
correctly," Crook said.
"She may resent the child instead of understanding
the child may need more attention than mom ever needed."
Understanding their children's personalities helps
parents decide how to motivate and discipline them,
Crook said.
Regency Taylor Publishing released the 320-page book
July 28 and it is doing very well, Crook said.
Several thousand were printed in the first run, Crook
said, and several Johnson County book stores have
ordered more, including Borders at 119th and Metcalf and
Olathe Christian Book Store.
The Web-based organization Parent to Parent gave the
book its Adding Wisdom Awards in four categories:
parenting book; educational products; children's health
and wellbeing; and gifts for moms.
Jodie Lynn, a syndicated columnist on family and
health issues, runs the Web site. Lynn wrote the 1989
best-selling parenting and family book "Mommy-CEO: 5
Golden Rules."
Crook is busy this week with book signings. Monday
she spoke to a mother's group at Westside Family Church
in Lenexa, and Tuesday she signed books at Barnes and
Noble in Leawood.
"I had no idea I was going to be so busy with the
promotion of this book," she said. Crook is working on a
second book, "Personality Insights For Couples."
Writing and speaking about family relationships is a
career path Crook started about seven years ago. Crook
said before that, she ran an interior design business
for about 10 years.
Besides fixing homes, Crook said, she found she could
fix relationships for clients. She liked that part of
the business and trained to become a human relations
consultant.
Four years ago, she opened her own communications
company. Two years ago, she received a master's degree
in speech communications from Central Missouri State
University, Warrensburg.
She began speaking on family relationships, mostly to
mother's groups. Her business spread, mainly due to word
of mouth, taking her to several cities, Crook said.
Crook attributes her success to God.
"I feel God opened that door. I have not done
anything to promote my speaking ministry," she said.
The book meets her audience's desire for something
they can take home and contemplate, Crook said.
She rates her current job better than interior
design.
"My heart's desire is to further God's kingdom," she
said. "I felt like God had completely revealed to me
that this book needed to be for all moms, not just
Christian moms.
"I can't imagine doing anything different. It's so
fulfilling because I'm changing lives, making a
difference. I know there's purpose."
Crook said she had seen lives and relationships take
an about-face.
"To me, it doesn't get greater than that."
