Childhood Development Learning

We have a tendency today to over-parent, micromanage, and underappreciate our adolescents. Dr. John Duffy's The Available Parent is a revolutionary approach to taking care of teens and tweens. The available parent of a teenager is open to discussion, offering advice and solutions but not insisting on them. He allows his child to make some mistakes, setting limits, primarily where health and safety are concerned. He never lectures - he is available but not controlling. He is neither cruel nor dismissive, ever....

Community leaders and activists Gómez and Arroyo worked with children, teenagers, and parents - both the victims and the bullies - to put together this searing anthology of original essays, poetry, plays, and commentary on how bullying has affected their lives.

After 35 years as an education consultant, Rae Pica knows the importance of understanding the natural course of child development. In this collection, she keeps kids front and center as she provides thought-provoking commentary and actionable insights on topics such as the Common Core, the self-esteem movement, and standardized testing.

Screenwise offers a realistic and optimistic perspective on how to thoughtfully guide kids in the digital age. Many parents feel that their kids are addicted, detached, or distracted because of their digital devices. Using the foundation of their own values and experiences, parents and educators can learn about the digital world to help set kids up for success in a world fueled by technology.

Gone are the days when socially conscious parents felt comfortable teaching their children to merely tolerate others. Instead, they are looking for a way to authentically embrace the fullness of their diverse communities. A Place to Belong offers a path forward for families to honor their cultural heritage and champion diversity in the context of daily family life.

Parents everywhere are deeply concerned about the education of their children, especially now, when education has become a minefield of politics and controversy. One of the world's most influential educators, Robinson has had countless conversations with parents about the dilemmas they face. As a parent, what should you look for in your children's education? How can you tell if their school is right for them and what can you do if it isn't? In this important new book, he offers clear principles and practical advice on how to support your child through the K-12 education system.

Radical Unschooling is a progressive parenting philosophy, which includes children learning at home. It is different from homeschooling in that children are not forced to follow curriculum lessons and tests. Radical Unschooling philosophy focuses on trust of a child's innate ability to learn without coercion and invites children to explore their passions. The parent's role is to facilitate their interests and curiosity. Radical Unschooling - the book - focuses also on the evolutionary aspect of parenting and human consciousness....

Homeschooling isn't always easy. There are hiccups and bumps, and there will be plenty of times that we doubt if we are really capable of teaching our kids well. In More than Enough, unexpected homeschooler of 12 years Kara Stephenson Anderson shares with warmth and honesty about real-life homeschooling. Written for any parent - those brand new to homeschooling and those who have been at this for years, More than Enough is a guide for putting connection ahead of perfection, letting go of standards and expectations, and living a life of learning and love together.

Young children live with awe and wonder as their daily companions. But as they grow, worries often crowd out wonder. Knowing this, how can parents strengthen their kids' love for the world so it sticks around for the long haul? Thankfully, parents have at their fingertips a miracle vaccine - one that can boost their kids' immunity to the world's distractions: stories. Well-chosen stories connect us with others, even those on the other side of the globe.

In the past, correct spelling, the multiplication tables, the names of the state capitals and the American presidents were basics that all children were taught in school. Today, many children graduate without this essential knowledge. Most curricula today follow a haphazard sampling of topics with a focus on political correctness instead of teaching students how to study.

At some point, most adults start to think about teaching someone to drive. Maybe your teenager has brought up the desire to drive. They probably have a birthday coming up soon. This idea may excite you, scare you, or just plain perplex you, as to how you could even get started. In Teach Your Teenager to Drive, author and experienced driver’s education teacher Paul Mazzi will give you a systematic approach. Just follow the book in order, and you will not be trying to figure it all out as you cruise down the road on the first lesson.

In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills, they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

The Practical Guide to the Montessori Method at Home is aimed at parents who want to integrate the Montessori philosophy at home with their children. The guide is written in a pleasant and accessible tone, and has been structured.

A veteran clinical psychologist exposes why doctors, teachers, and parents incorrectly diagnose healthy American children with serious psychiatric conditions. In recent years there has been an alarming rise in the number of American children and youth assigned a mental health diagnosis. Current data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal a 41 percent increase in rates of ADHD diagnoses over the past decade and a forty-fold spike in bipolar disorder diagnoses. Similarly, diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder has increased by 78 percent since 2002.

Our increasingly complicated lifestyle demands clear and constructive thinking: making decisions, making choices, taking initiatives, and being creative. Watching television for 20 to 30 hours a week, as many children do, results in a passive mind that can only copy what others are doing (including drugs, sex, and violence). Give your children a better chance in life. Thinking is a skill...even a superior brain is wasted without it. You can start to teach your children to think - now.

Regardless of how wealthy or poor their parents are, all black boys must confront and surmount the "achievement gap": a divide that shows up not only in our sons' test scores, but in their social and emotional development, their physical well-being, and their outlook on life. As children, they score as high on cognitive tests as their peers, but at some point, the gap emerges. Why? This is the question Joe Brewster, M.D., and Michele Stephenson asked when their own son, Idris, began struggling in a new school.

In Preschool Clues, Angela shares the latest research from top thinkers in child development and education. Through her practical, straightforward advice and inspiring, conversational approach, you will not only understand exactly what your children are learning from the shows they watch and why these shows are so effective; you’ll know exactly how to apply these same proven approaches in your daily life and with the same powerful results.

For more than a decade, Letting Go has provided hundreds of thousands of parents with valuable insights, information, comfort, and guidance throughout the emotional and social changes of their children's college years—from senior year in high school through college graduation. Based on research and real life experience, and recommended by colleges and universities, Letting Go, Sixth Edition, has been updated and revised, offering even more insightful, practical, and up-to-date information.

Is school for your kids a resounding success? For most of us, education was an uncomfortable process of sitting in stifling classrooms, listening to tedious lectures, struggling over stressful exams, and feeling like we were wasting our time and energy. There were class clowns, ruthless bullies, teacher’s pets, popular kids, and students no one wanted to be around.

It happens to every parent. One day, you have a sweet son or daughter who loves to snuggle on the couch and who puts a smile on your face just by walking into the room. The next day, it's as if someone left the door open and let in an alien with a smart mouth and an attitude that, frankly, you could do without. Entering middle school is like stepping onto a different planet - for parent and child alike. It's a planet where peer pressure, social media, and hormones can wreak havoc in your child's life.