The twelve alternatives to time out presented in this book focus on problem solving and cooperative learning to give parents and children a chance to address behavior while maintaining a positive, respectful and connected relationship. Encouraging better behavior without time out is not only possible, it is, according to the latest research on child development and parenting practices, more effective. While children tend to repeat misbeaviors shortly after time out, connected parenting tools help children really learn to make better choices. This guidance based approach to parenting and discipline is not only effective, it will work from toddlerhood and well into the teen years. A connected approach to discipline helps children learn the skills they need to be successful, resilient, happy, empathetic, cooperative and well-adjusted for life. Discover why what children do is not manipulation, learn how to tackle "misbehaviors" and teach your child the value of cooperation and respect. Read stories from real parents that have used connected discipline tools to positively transform whining, screaming, defiance, back talk, tantrums, dawdling, sibling fights and many other every day parenting challenges. Children are quite creative when it comes to solving problems, this book will help you foster that ability and also help you teach your child to calm down instead of melt down. This book gives you twelve concrete parenting tools, based on real families plus the latest parenting and child development research so you can choose how to best incorporate them into your own parenting practices. This book was written by a parenting educator, with years of experience working with children and families who is also the mother to three children. Because the author is a busy mother herself, the book was written purposely to be short, useful and practical, while still presenting valuable information.

From two internationally recognized experts in the field of gifted education comes this timely exploration of how best to nurture a child’s unique gifts, and set them on a path to a happily productive life — in school and beyond. What is intelligence? Is it really a have or have not proposition, as we’ve been led to believe? Are some children just destined to fall behind? Dona Matthews and Joanne Foster answer those questions with a resounding “No!” In Beyond Intelligence, they demonstrate that every child has the ability to succeed — with the right support and guidance. But how can parents provide that support? Matthews and Foster proceed from the assumption that knowledge is power, offering parents an information-packed guide to identifying a child’s ability, fostering creativity, and bolstering effort and persistence. Using case studies and anecdotes from their personal and professional experience, they explore different ways of learning; the links between creativity and intelligence; and how to best to provide emotional and social supports. They offer critical advice on how to work co-operatively with schools and educators, and address how to embrace failures as learning opportunities. Drawing on the latest research in brain development and education theory, Beyond Intelligence is a must-read for today’s parents and educators.

When you’re a new parent, the miracle of life might not always feel so miraculous. Maybe your latest 2:00 a.m., 2:45 a.m., and 3:30 a.m. wake-up calls have left you wondering how “sleep like a baby” ever became a figure of speech—and what the options are for restoring your sanity. Or your child just left bite marks on someone, and you’re wondering how to handle it. First-time mom Tracy Cutchlow knows what you’re going through. In Zero to Five: 70 Essential Parenting Tips Based on Science (and What I’ve Learned So Far), she takes dozens of parenting tips based on scientific research and distills them into something you can easily digest during one of your two-minute-long breaks in the day. The pages are beautifully illustrated by award-winning photojournalist Betty Udesen. Combining the warmth of a best friend with a straightforward style, Tracy addresses questions such as: Should I talk to my pregnant belly / newborn? Is that going to feel weird? (Yes, and absolutely.) How do I help baby sleep well? (Start with the 45-minute rule.) How can I instill a love of learning in my child? (By using specific types of praise and criticism.) What will boost my child’s success in school? (Play that requires self-control, like make-believe.) My baby loves videos and cell-phone games. That’s cool, right? (If you play, too.) What tamps down temper tantrums? (Naming emotions out loud.) My sweet baby just hit a playmate / lied to me about un-potting the plant / talked back. Now what? (Choose one of three logical consequences.) How do I get through an entire day of this? (With help. Lots of help.) Who knew babies were so funny? (They are!) Whether you read the book front to back or skip around, Zero to Five will help you make the best of the tantrums (yours and baby’s), moments of pure joy, and other surprises along the totally-worth-it journey of parenting.

A groundbreaking guide to raising responsible, capable, happy kids Based on the latest research on brain development and extensive clinical experience with parents, Dr. Laura Markham’s approach is as simple as it is effective. Her message: Fostering emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change. When you have that vital connection, you don’t need to threaten, nag, plead, bribe—or even punish. This remarkable guide will help parents better understand their own emotions—and get them in check—so they can parent with healthy limits, empathy, and clear communication to raise a self-disciplined child. Step-by-step examples give solutions and kid-tested phrasing for parents of toddlers right through the elementary years. If you’re tired of power struggles, tantrums, and searching for the right “consequence,” look no further. You’re about to discover the practical tools you need to transform your parenting in a positive, proven way.

The author of Punished by Rewards and The Schools Our Children Deserve returns with a provocative challenge to the conventional ways of raising children. Kohn argues that all children have the need to be loved unconditionally, yet conventional approaches to parenting, such as punishment and reward, teach children that they are loved only when they please and impress parents. Kohn cites powerful research detailing the damage this can cause. Unconditional Parenting pushes parents to question their ideas of parenting and offers practical solutions to problems.

Discover an age-old parenting method that treats children with dignity, respect, understanding, and compassion from infancy into adulthood. The Natural Child makes a compelling case for a return to attachment parenting, a child-rearing approach that has come naturally for parents throughout most of human history. In this insightful guide, parenting specialist Jan Hunt links together attachment parenting principles with child advocacy and homeschooling philosophies, offering a consistent approach to raising a loving, trusting, and confident child. The Natural Child dispels the myths of “tough love,” building baby’s self-reliance by ignoring its cries, and the necessity of spanking to enforce discipline. Instead, the book explains the value of extended breast-feeding, family co-sleeping, and minimal child-parent separation. Homeschooling, like attachment parenting, nurtures feelings of self-worth, confidence, and trust. The author draws on respected leaders of the homeschool movement such as John Taylor Gatto and John Holt, guiding the reader through homeschool approaches that support attachment parenting principles. Being an ally to children is spontaneous for caring adults, but intervening on behalf of a child can be awkward and surrounded by social taboo. The Natural Child shows how to stand up for a child’s rights effectively and sensitively in many difficult situations. The role of caring adults, points out Hunt, is not to give children “lessons in life”—but to employ a variation of The Golden Rule, and treat children as we would like to have been treated in childhood. Praise for The Natural Child “I had grown jaded with the flood of parenting books, but The Natural Child is a rare and splendid exception . . . . I can’t praise it sufficiently, and would place it along with Leidloff’s Continuum Concept and my own Magical Child . . . . It could make an enormous difference if read widely enough.” —Joseph Chilton Pierce, author of The Magical Child “In prose that is at the same time eloquent and simple, [Hunt] provides a mix of useful parenting tips that are supported by the philosophy that children reflect the treatment they receive. This is no less than an impassioned plea for the future—not only our children’s future, but the future of our way oof life on this planet.” —Wendy Priesnitz, Editor, Natural Life Magazine

A discussion of alternative resources for addiction treatment, including a comprehensive directory of licensed professionals and treatment programs.