Turn Your Child into a Great Reader! Are you concerned about your child's reading ability? Does yourchild hate to read? If so, you are not alone. In fact, 38 percentof American fourth graders are unable to read at a basic level. Butnow you can turn your nonreader child into a reading star—in just afew short weeks. Based on research done at Yale, this simple yet revolutionary guidemerges the three essential elements of reading instruction:auditory training, phonics, and whole language. Inside, teachersand parents will find easy-to-read cartoons, games, and fun phonicsheets that will help almost any child read at or above gradelevel. Reading expert Peggy Wilber will show you how to help yourchild develop better fluency, language skills, and comprehension.You'll learn how to: Determine your child's specific reading needs Help your childdevelop comprehension strategies Enhance your child's phonic skillsChoose great reading selections at the right level for your childAnd much more! "This is an effec

The number of anxious, depressed, hyperactive and withdrawnchildren is staggering—and still growing! Millions have experiencedbullying, violence (real or in the media), abuse or sexualmolestation. Many other kids have been traumatized from more“ordinary” ordeals such as terrifying medical procedures,accidents, loss and divorce. Trauma-Proofing Your Kids sends alifeline to parents who wonder how they can help their worried andtroubled children now. It offers simple but powerful tools to keepchildren safe from danger and to help them “bounce back” afterfeeling scared and overwhelmed. No longer will kids have to bepassive prey to predators or the innocent victims of life’scircumstances. In addition to arming parents with priceless protectivestrategies, best-selling authors Dr. Peter A. Levine and MaggieKline offer an antidote to trauma and a recipe for creatingresilient kids no matter what misfortune has besieged them.Trauma-Proofing Your Kids is a treasure trove of simple-to-follow“st

Your infant is crying and you don’t know why. Your toddlerrefuses every kind of food–except one. Your preschooler wages warwith you each morning over what to wear. Every day, parentsstruggle unsuccessfully to understand why their children act theway they do. Now child development expert Priscilla J. Dunstanbreaks down those barriers to understanding with this revolutionaryand accessible guide that teaches a new way ofparenting–custom-designed for each child’s personality. The product of eight years of groundbreaking research, this bookwill help you understand how your child interacts with the world.Dunstan begins from the premise that every child has his or her owndominant sensory “interface” with the world. Some children arehighly sensitive to touch, others to sound or to sight. And someare unusually sensitive to all outside stimuli, especially tasteand smell. This sensitivity affects how your child behaves, learns,and communicates from the very first days of life. Uncovering yourchi

Raising decent, caring, and responsible children is the mostcomplex and challenging job in every parent’s life—and anincreasingly difficult one in today’s society. Here is the mostauthoritative book available on this crucial subject, a valuableand sensitive guide for parents who want their children to grow upwith lifelong positive values. Based on fascinating research, this groundbreaking work bypsychologist and educator Dr. Thomas Lickona describes thepredictable stages of moral development from birth to adulthood.And it offers you down-to-earth advice and guidance for eachstage: ? Seven caring ways to discipline “terrible twos” ? Why your preschooler “lies” and how to handle it ? What to do about a four-year-old’s back talk ? How to handle your seven-year-old’s endless negotiations aboutwhat’s “fair” ? Why teens have trouble with peer pressure—and how to helpthem ? How to talk to your child about drugs, drinking, and se

Safety skills for children outside the home Warning signs of sexual abuse How to screen baby-sitters and choose schools Strategies for keeping teenagers safe from violence All parents face the same challenges when it comes to theirchildren's safety: whom to trust, whom to distrust, what tobelieve, what to doubt, what to fear, and what not to fear. In thisempowering book, Gavin de Becker, the nation's leading expert onpredicting violent behavior and author of the monumental bestsellerThe Gift of Fear, offers practical new steps to enhance children'ssafety at every age level, giving you the tools you need to allowyour kids freedom without losing sleep yourself. With daring andcompassion, he shatters the widely held myths about danger andsafety and helps parents find some certainty about life'shighest-stakes questions: How can I know a baby-sitter won't turn out to be someone whoharms my child? (see page 103) What should I ask child-care professionals when I interview t

Informative, inspiring, and enlightening, Becoming theParent You Want to Be provides parents with the building blocksthey need to discover their own parenting philosophy and developeffective parenting strategies. Through in-depthinformation, practical suggestions, and many lively first-personstories, the authors address the many dilemmas and joys that theparent of young children encounter and demonstrate a range ofsolutions to the major issues that arise in the raising of babies,toddlers and preschoolers. Full of warmth, clarity,humor, and respect, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be givesparents permission to be human: to question, to learn, to makemistakes, to struggle and to grow, and, most of all, to have funwith their children.

Empowering Methods for Effective Childcare As a professional childcare provider, you want to create anenvironment that is inviting and nurturing for children as well asencouraging for your adult staff. You want to find ways to form apartnership with parents in their children's development. Simplyput, you want to provide an all-around quality childcare experienceat every level. This book is also great for parents who want totake an active role in assuring the best childcare for theirchildren. Positive Discipline for Childcare Providers offers a thorough,practical program that is easily adaptable to any childcare orpreschool situation and setting. Inside are workable solutions tomany of today's toughest childcare issues and everything you needto develop an enriching experience for children, parents, andworkers alike. You'll learn how to: ·Create a setting where children can laugh, learn, and grow ·Support healthy physical, emotional, and cognitive developmentin all children, inc

Is it possible to raisea contented only child? Can we be happy with only one child? Theanswer to both of these questions is a resounding yes. In recent years, the number of couples choosing to have one childhas risen sharply. Whether it's by choice or fate, having a singlechild presents unique considerations, opportunities, andadvantages. Social psychologist Susan Newman, who has been studyingsingle-child families since the 1980s, shatters the myths of thelonely, spoiled only child, and provides in-depth coverage of thecritical issues including: ? Making the right family size decision for you ? Withstanding the pressure to have another ? Maintaining a balance of power in a three-member household ? Single-parenting the only child ? Setting boundaries with a child who is used to having yourundivided attention ? Fostering high achievement, creativity, and independence in onlychildren ? The effects of having parents, instead of siblings, as rolemodels ? Confronting age-old only-child stereotypes ? Buil

"CONGRATULATIONS--YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!" Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the powerof speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settlein. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two ofeverything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up)need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, theyneed more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now helpis here with The Art of Parenting Twins. Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more)babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through thoseincredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind ofchild-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've beenlooking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services,Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills youneed. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as - Bonding with more than one baby - Breast-feeding techniques

From "Goo" to Gab — Guiding Your Child to EffectiveCommunication The first five years of a child's life are the most critical forspeech and language development, and, as a parent, you are yourchild's primary language role model. So what are the best ways tohelp your child develop the all-important skill of communication?Fun, easy, and engaging, this book shows you how! Inside, you'lldiscover all of the essential steps and checkpoints from birththrough age five, tips to help your child progress on schedule, andeasy methods to: · Evaluate and monitor your child's language development · Understand and deal with environmental impacts such astelevision and cultural styles · Recognize the signs of language development problems · And much, much more!