Family Development

When Deb Moerke and her husband decided to become foster parents, they never imagined how their lives would change. And never did they imagine their worst nightmare coming true: Their five-year-old foster daughter, Hannah, murdered at the hands of her birth mom, Karen. The Moerkes were overwhelmed with horror and grief. And just when they didn’t think they could bear any more, Deb received a phone call from Karen in prison. Facing a life sentence for Hannah’s murder, she was pregnant. And Karen had an incredible request: Would Deb take her unborn baby and love it as her own?

Might you and your baby both sleep better if you shared a bed? How old is too old for breastfeeding? What is a father's role in nurturing a newborn? How does early attachment foster a child's eventual independence? Dr. Bill and Martha Sears - the doctor-and-nurse, husband-and-wife team who coined the term "attachment parenting" - answer these and many more questions in this practical, inspiring guide. Attachment parenting is a style of parenting that encourages a strong early attachment and advocates parental responsiveness to babies' dependency needs.

Reassuring to parents and educators, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards shows why - and how - to step away from the cult of achievement and toward a more nurturing home life full of imaginative play and love of learning. Here's the message that stressed-out parents are craving to hear: It's okay to play! In fact, it's more than just okay - it's better than drilling academics. After decades of research, scientists and child development experts have come to a clear conclusion: Play is the best way for children to learn.

Delve into a practical and compassionate tour of adolescence, laden with insight and understanding. Embarking on an exploration that spans from understanding teen behaviors to communicating effectively with your teen, this book serves as a beacon for those lost in the labyrinth of parenting teens. With crucial additions focused on the influence of the internet, substance use, and LGBTQ+ youth, it adapts to the evolving landscapes your teenager might be trekking.

A tough-love guide to coping with dysfunctional adult children, Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children will empower families by offering hope and healing through S.A.N.I.T.Y. - a six-step program to help parents regain control in their homes and in their lives.

In The High-Conflict Custody Battle, a team of legal and psychology experts present a practical guidebook for people like you who are engaged in a high-conflict custody battle. If you are dealing with an overtly hostile, inflammatory, deceitful, or manipulative ex-spouse, you will learn how to find and work with an attorney and prepare for a custody evaluation. The book also provides helpful tips you can use to defend yourself against false accusations and gives a realistic portrayal of what to expect during a legal fight.

Drawing on her decades of experience in caring for pregnant women, mothers, and babies, Ina May Gaskin explores the health and psychological benefits of breastfeeding and gives you invaluable practical advice that will help you nurse your baby in the most fulfilling way possible. In this book you'll find answers to virtually every question you have on breastfeeding, including topics such as: the benefits of breastfeeding, pumps and other nursing products, medications, and nursing multiples.

From rule breaking and risk taking to defensive communication and disrespect, parenting a teenager can feel like modern warfare - but it doesn't have to be that way. In 1-2-3 Magic Teen, internationally renowned parenting expert Thomas W. Phelan explains how to better understand your teenager, which problems are not worth fighting over, and why your child's behavior likely matches the definition of a normal adolescent.

Cutting-edge research reveals that parents can play a huge role in helping toddlers and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) connect with others and live up to their potential. This encouraging guide from the developers of a groundbreaking early intervention program provides doable, practical strategies you can use every day. Nearly all young kids - including those with ASD - have an amazing capacity to learn. Drs. Sally Rogers, Geraldine Dawson, and Laurie Vismara make it surprisingly simple to turn daily routines like breakfast or bath time into fun learning experiences.

Half of all marriages end. Unfortunately, about 20% of divorces are high-conflict, involving frequent visits to court, allegations of abuse, and chronic disagreements regarding parenting schedules. In response to this conflict, some children become aligned with one parent against the other - even a parent who has done nothing to warrant the hostile rejection of their formerly loving children. These parents are on a painful journey with an uncertain outcome. Surviving Parental Alienation fills the tremendous need for concrete help for these parents.

In Co-Parenting with a Toxic Ex, a nationally recognized parenting expert offers you a positive parenting approach to dealing with a hostile ex-spouse. You'll learn to avoid the most common mistakes of co-parenting, how to avoid "parental alienation syndrome", and effective techniques for talking to your children in a way that fosters an open and honest response. In addition, you'll learn how to protect your children from painful loyalty conflicts between you and your ex-spouse.

Parenting children with ADHD, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, can be challenging and complex. But just as a child who struggles with reading can learn to decode words, children with ADHD can learn patience, communication, and solution-seeking skills to become more confident, independent, and capable. This book, rich with optimism, tips, tools, and action plans, offers science-based insights and systems for parents to help cultivate these skills.

If life with your teen has become a battleground, it's time to take action. This empathic book shows how. Trusted psychologists who have worked with thousands of families give you the tools you need to overcome defiance and get teen behavior back on track. Vivid stories and answers to frequently asked questions help you put the techniques into action. The updated second edition incorporates new scientific research on why some teens have more problems with self-control than others.

The saying "babies don't come with a manual" may be true - but newborn books are a good place to start. Parenting is a process of phases and milestones, and newborn books are invaluable. Each new stage, as important as the last, serves as a building process for years of parental education and care. The Newborn Handbook will gently and sequentially lead you through each week of caring for a newborn in the first three months - the weeks and months that can be both exhilarating as well as nerve-racking.

Mystified by the situations girls face today? There's a good reason, Mom. Our girls are growing up in a completely different world than we did. But whether your daughter is very young or a teenager, you can equip yourself with the wisdom and practical help she needs for the pressures and decisions ahead. With keen insight and warm encouragement, Cheri Fuller shares how you can become a more welcome influence at every stage in your daughter's life.

Today's kids have adopted sedentary lifestyles filled with television, video games, and computer screens. But more and more, studies show that children need "rough and tumble" outdoor play in order to develop their sensory, motor, and executive functions. Disturbingly, a lack of movement has been shown to lead to a number of health and cognitive difficulties, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), emotion regulation and sensory processing issues, and aggressiveness at school recess break.

Rex Forehand, PhD, and Nicholas Long, PhD, have helped thousands of parents achieve discipline using positive reinforcement, without yelling or harming the child's self-esteem. Their clinically proven, five-week program gives you the tools you need to successfully manage your child's behavior, giving specific factors that cause or contribute to disruptive behavior, ways to develop a more positive atmosphere in your family and home, and strategies for managing specific behavior problems.

In What to Do When You're Having Two, national twins guru and founder of Twiniversity, and mother of twins herself, Natalie Diaz provides a no-holds-barred resource about life with twins, from pregnancy and birth all the way through your duo's first year of life. Funny, reassuring, full of stories and advice, and packed with tried-and-true tips from the trenches, this is the must-have survival guide for parents of twins.

Written by a pediatrician and based in proven-effective mindfulness techniques, this book will help you and your child with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) keep calm, flexible, and in control.

Drawing on a wealth of psychological research, Alfie Kohn points the way to a more successful strategy based on working with people instead of doing things to them. "Do rewards motivate people?" asks Kohn. "Yes. They motivate people to get rewards." Seasoned with humor and familiar examples, Punished by Rewards presents an argument unsettling to hear but impossible to dismiss.