Through stories and a breakdown of how-tos, The Dance of Parenting will get you thinking about your parenting experience in a new way. It offers simply laid out parenting skills to help you energize and strengthen your parenting dance. It will accompany you as you develop your enlightened, thriving inner choreographer.

A unique manual to raising a child—for parents everywhere—using the metaphor of dance to provide expert, comforting advice. Having children and raising a family should be the greatest joy in one’s life, but it is a role that requires tremendous responsibility and patience. As parents, our job is to provide a strong foundation for our children, so that they can eventually grow up to become self-sufficient adults. However, just like everything in life, all children are different, some requiring more support than others and to varying degrees over time. Parenting is like a dance between parent and child. The more seamless the movements, the more graceful the interaction. When a parent takes the lead or decides to share, over time with practice, the dance can be smooth and effortless. Nevertheless, when the child is unintentionally allowed to take the lead, the parent-child dance may appear more rocky and unstable. This often occurs when the parent is unclear and at odds with their role. The ensuing battle for the lead may cause disharmony in the relationship and the dance. Parenting is a lifelong commitment that takes patience, thoughtfulness, and skill. The Parent-Child Dance is designed to explain the concept of the dance and act as a catalyst for encouraging parents to begin their journey in making positive changes in their child’s life. Parents will recognize the scenarios and gain insight through humorous examples and step-by-step strategies to avoid disharmony.

The Parent-Child Dance: A Guide to Help You Understand and Shape Your Child's Behavior, shows you how to help your child improve his behavior and become calmer, happier, and more focused. You'll also learn how to strengthen and enjoy your parent-child relationship--without guilt, shame, or blame. Written by pediatric behavioral specialist, Miriam Manela, OTR/L, this sensitively-illustrated parenting guide contains over eighty creative activities and shows you the proven techniques the author has taught to thousands of parents, kids, teachers, and therapists. Get help for your child for difficulties such as over-sensitivity or irritability; discomfort with touch, sound, smell, and taste; overly rough and rowdy behavior; frequent anger outbursts or temper tantrums; anxiety or nervousness; appearing withdrawn or shutdown; difficulty with peers, problems with teachers; and more issues that the author, a pediatric occupational therapist, has successfully treated in hundreds of patients in her private practice. Table of Contents ForewordNote to Parents, Guardians, and ProfessionalsIntroductionChapter One: Stress and the Dysregulated ChildChapter Two: The Child-on-the-EdgeChapter Three: The Princess and the PeaChapter Four: The Heat-Seeking MissileChapter Five: The Squeaky WheelChapter Six: Taking Care of YouResource GuideAcknowledgmentsIndex Recommendations and Praise for The Parent-Child Dance: "Miriam Manela has the key to help you unlock the mystery of your child's challenging behavior...A compassionate, insightful, user-friendly book." -Pat Carroll, host of "Raising Our Kids," WCBS radio. "This book is like having an occupational therapist living in your attic! Through science, step-by-step instructions, and helpful illustrations, Manela and Zwolinski beautifully reveal the secrets of therapeutic, purposeful connection for the benefit of parents and children alike. Let's dance, let's dance indeed!" -Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D., Coauthor of the Bestseller, The Art of Roughhousing "The Parent-Child Dance is a wonderful resource book for parents and professionals to help children with the range of sensory processing disorders...This must-have book is full of activities that can be easily integrated into play and everyday routines." -Dr. Georgia DeGangi Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapist "In this highly readable and practical book Manela and Zwolinski share hands-on approaches and easy to understand explanations of some of the underlying causes of dysregulated child behavior. The easily understandable recommendations coupled with the wonderful illustrations that clearly describe how to implement the exercises combine to make this a volume that parents will find to be a tool that can help them meet the challenge of raising a child with behavioral difficulties." -Dr. David Pelcovitz, Psychologist, Y.U. "The Parent-Child Dance offers many creative activities parents can do with their children at home to help them with some common behavioral issues." -Howard Glasser is Executive Director of Children's Success Foundation & Creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach(r) "The Parent-Child Dance could only have been written by someone with Miriam Manela's expertise, dedication, and insight. In it, Miriam helps you get in touch with your child's inner world, and gives you the tools you need to strengthen your parent-child relationship without blaming or shaming." -Richard M. Zwolinski, Author of Therapy Revolution: Find Help, Get Better, and Move On

Cultivate effective partnerships between parents and professionals through honest, respectful and skillful communication The authors draw upon the metaphor of "dance" to better understand the complexities and possibilities of forming partnerships between educators, administrators, early childhood providers, therapists, support staff, other professionals, and parents of children with disabilities. This revised edition of Do You Hear What I Hear? Parents and Professionals Working Together for Children With Special Needs is rich with stories, examples, and practical insights. This book, written from both the parent′s and the professional′s points of view, provides a developmental approach to understanding and forging positive adult relationships, while also providing concrete ways to advocate for children. The authors′ years of experience as successful consultants, trainers, and educators lends this helpful resource a deep sense of realism and compassion. They remind the reader of how essential the parent-professional partnership is—and why it IS a dance that matters. Key features include: Practical insights and evidence-based approaches to forming partnerships Easy-to-read, non-technical language that speaks to both the heart and the mind Sample letters and other forms of communication shared between professionals and parents Stories and examples of real-world conversations between parents and professionals Effective ways to handle difficult situations Rich with humor and heart, this highly readable book offers helpful steps for self reflection, personnel preparation, and parent-professional training. Educators and parents will find expert guidance for listening to each other′s music, trying out each other′s dance steps, and working toward a new dance that includes contributions from all—with the ultimate reward of seeing children achieve their highest potential.

Following a unique format perfect for today's world, the renowned author of The Dance of Anger gives us just over 100 rules that cover all the hot spots in long-term relationships. Marriage Rules offers new solutions to age-old problems ("He won't talk"/"She doesn't want sex") as well as modern ones (your partner's relationship to technology.) You'll also learn how to: Calm things down and warm them up Talk straight and fight fair Listen well as a spiritual practice Connect with a distant partner Survive the unique challenges of children, stepchildren and difficult- laws Follow a 12-step program to overcome defensiveness Know how and when to draw the line Take back your marriage when things fall apart Marriage Rules is a treasure chest of lively, practical advice to help you navigate your couple relationship with clarity, courage, and joyous conviction. If one person in a couple follows ten rules of his or her choice, it will generate a major, positive change. All that's required is a genuine wish for a better relationship and a willingness to practice.

Unconventional--yet effective--parenting strategies, carefully curated by the creator of the popular podcast The Longest Shortest Time Some of the best parenting advice that Hillary Frank ever received did not come from parenting experts, but from friends and podcast listeners who acted on a whim, often in moments of desperation. These "weird parenting wins" were born of moments when the expert advice wasn't working, and instead of freaking out, these parents had a stroke of genius. For example, there's the dad who pig-snorted in his baby's ear to get her to stop crying, and the mom who made a "flat daddy" out of cardboard and sat it at the dinner table when her kids were missing their deployed military father. Every parent and kid is unique, and as we get to know our kids, we can figure out what makes them tick. Because this is an ongoing process, Weird Parenting Wins covers children of all ages, ranging in topics from "The Art of Getting Your Kid to Act Like a Person" (on hygiene, potty training, and manners) to "The Art of Getting Your Kid to Tell You Things" (because eventually, they're going to be tight-lipped). You may find that someone else's weird parenting win works for you, or you might be inspired to try something new the next time you're stuck in a parenting rut. Or maybe you'll just get a good laugh out of the mom who got her kid to try beets because...it might turn her poop pink.