Child Development Psychology

Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question. Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”

Keeping children bodies, minds, and emotions on task just got easier with this new book from self-regulation expert Teresa Garland. Featuring more than 200 practical and proven interventions, strategies, and adaptations for helping children gain more control over their lives. Each chapter provides rich background and theoretical material to help the listener better understand the issues our children face.

If you have a child with anxiety, you need quick, in-the-moment solutions you can easily use now to help your child face their fears and worries. Created by a psychologist and expert in childhood anxiety, this guide offers proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure skills you can use at home, in social settings, or anywhere anxiety takes hold.

If you are the parent of a toddler or preschooler, chances are you know a thing or two about tantrums. While those epic meltdowns can certainly be part of "normal" toddler behavior, they are still maddening, stressful, and exhausting - for everyone involved. What can you do to keep your cool and help your child calm down? Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, child psychologist and mother of two, has a unique understanding of both the science behind tantrums and what works in the heat of the moment to nip blowups in the bud.

Parents are the first to know when their child starts behaving differently. Has your son stopped eating his favorite food, or does he refuse to eat out with friends? Has your daughter drastically increased her exercise regimen or become obsessed with health foods? These are among the telltale signs that your child, like millions of others, may have an eating disorder (ED). In this essential guide, registered dietitians Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling introduce an all-new strategy you can use to help your child at home.

Most children are afraid of the dark. Some fear monsters under the bed. But 10 percent of children have excessive fears and worries - phobias, separation anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder - that can hold them back and keep them from fully enjoying childhood. If your child suffers from any of these forms of anxiety, the program in this book offers practical, scientifically proven tools that can help.

Learn to love the ups and downs of parenting. Understand your child and respond better to their needs by following advice from parenting experts. Accepting that every child is unique, A Practical Guide to Child Psychology offers new approaches to parenting and explains how they can benefit your family, helping you to put them into practice straight away. Full of case studies and activities, and fresh, accessible and useful ideas, this practical guide will help you to guide your child through life’s challenges and support their learning and development.

As a research neuroscientist, Lise Eliot has made the study of the human brain her life's work. But it wasn't until she was pregnant with her first child that she became intrigued with the study of brain development. She wanted to know precisely how the baby's brain is formed, and when and how each sense, skill, and cognitive ability is developed. And most importantly, she was interested in finding out how her role as a nurturer can affect this complex process.

Leading medical innovator Kenneth Bock, MD, has helped change the lives of more than 1,000 children, and in this important book he offers help to children everywhere. This is the book that finally puts hope within reach. Doctors have generally overlooked the connections among the 4-A disorders, despite their concurrent rise and the presence of many medical clues.

Many of us know we're putting too much pressure on our kids - and on ourselves - but how do we get off this crazy train? We want our children to succeed, to be their best, and to do their best, but what if they are not on board? A few years ago, Ned Johnson and Bill Stixrud started noticing the same problem from different angles: even high-performing kids were coming to them acutely stressed and lacking any real motivation. Many complained that they had no real control over their lives.

Drawing on her 25-plus years of experience in the assessment and treatment of common sleep problems in children, Dr. Jodi A. Mindell provides tips and techniques, the answers to commonly asked questions, and case studies and quotes from parents who have successfully solved their children's sleep problems. Unlike other books on the subject, Dr. Mindell also offers practical tips on bedtime, rather than middle-of-the-night-sleep training, and shows how all members of the family can cope with the stresses associated with teaching a child to sleep.

Parenting is hard. That's why self-compassion is so important. In this empathetic resource, mindfulness expert and psychologist Susan M. Pollak helps you let go of constant self-judgment and treat yourself with the same kindness and caring you strive to offer your kids. Simple, yet powerful, guided meditation techniques (most under three minutes long) are easy to practice while doing the dishes, driving to work, or soothing a fussy baby. Learn to respond to your own imperfections like a supportive friend, not a harsh critic.

Few of us are immune to the ideas we absorbed as children. We learned how to get approval or disapproval by creating the kinds of selves who would fit in and succeed with the "right" jobs, relationships, possessions, and so on. Even if we rebel against these ingrained notions by going in the opposite direction, we are still controlled by them. Either way, as adults we are often left feeling anxious or depressed because who we really are has been ignored.

Veteran psychologist Sharon Saline shares the words and inner struggles of children and teens living with ADHD - and a blueprint for achieving lasting success by working together. Based on more than 25 years of experience counseling young people and their families, Dr. Saline’s advice and real-world examples reveal how parents can shift the dynamic and truly help kids succeed.

If you were raised by a narcissistic mother and are struggling with the lingering effects of a toxic upbringing, this is the road map you need to heal the past and thrive in the present and future.

More than just a book full of the latest information, this is a dynamic, interactive, and personalized journey of recovery for those impacted by adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Finally, they can put their past behind them where it belongs! For those who have grown up in a family with addiction, mental illness, or other adverse childhood experiences (ACES), the heartache and pain doesn't end when they grow up and leave home.

How does trauma affect a child's mind—and how can that mind recover? In the classic The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Dr. Perry explains what happens to the brains of children exposed to extreme stress and shares their lessons of courage, humanity, and hope. Only when we understand the science of the mind and the power of love and nurturing can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.

Grounded in mindfulness and neuroscience, this pioneering book redefines discipline and outlines the five essential elements necessary for children to thrive: unconditional love, space to be themselves, mentorship, healthy boundaries, and mistakes that create learning and growth opportunities. In this book you will also discover parenting practices such as setting limits with love, working with difficult emotions, and forgiveness and compassion meditations that place discipline within a context of mindfulness.

In this easy-to-listen-to, science-based book, parents, caregivers, and adults of all kinds discover how discipline affects children’s development, why intervention should reinforce connection not separation, and why the disciplinary strategies that may have been used on us as children are not the ones that children really need. As a practicing child and family psychologist and advisor to the British Columbia ministry of children and families, Dr. Vanessa has seen it all, and she has navigated hundreds of tough situations with families.

One of the very best scientific predictors for how any child turns out - in terms of happiness, academic success, leadership skills, and meaningful relationships - is whether at least one adult in their life has consistently shown up for them. In an age of scheduling demands and digital distractions, showing up for your child might sound like a tall order. But as best-selling authors Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson reassuringly explain, it doesn’t take a lot of time, energy, or money. Instead, showing up means offering a quality of presence.