The Mother of All Parenting Books The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Happy, Healthy Child from Preschool through the Preteens

by Douglas, Ann

• ISBN13: 9780764556180
• ISBN10: 0764556185
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-04
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

YOUR CHILD'S GROWING UP! From preschool to the preteens, raising your boy or girl is an exhilarating, challenging time. The Mother of All Parenting Books is a comforting instruction manual for the day-to-day adventures that await you. Packed with practical strategies, handy checklists, and parent-tested advice, this comprehensive, down-to-earth guide is a breath of fresh air for moms and dads, empowering you to choose a parenting that works best for you and your children.Warm and entertaining, The Mother of All Parenting Books provides an authoritative yet non-bossy approach to everything from discipline and sibling rivalry to teaching values, encouraging academic success, and promoting effective communication. Inside you'll find the straight facts about difficult subjects, such as spanking, bullying, raising children with special needs, and parent burnout. You also get a first-aid guide, a directory of key parenting organizations, and the answers to all your medical questions, vetted by a panel of health authorities. Plus, this book features nitty-gritty, from-the-trenches wisdom from other parents-the only ones w ho truly understand what it's like to be in your shoes! Concise, dependable, and wonderfully reassuring, The Mother of All Parenting Books will help you guide your child through these roller coaster years-and raise a happy, healthy family!Advance Praise for The Mother of All Parenting Books"This book has all the answers that are missing from other parenting books! It's honest, complete, well-researched . . . and not preachy." -Dr. Cathryn Tobin, author of The Parent's Problem Solver

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(6)
The Ultimate Personal Growth Experience	1	(1)
A Book for (Gloriously) Imperfect Parents	2	(1)
A One-of -a-Kind Parenting Book	3	(4)
CHAPTER 1 The Truth About Parenting	7	(36)
Why No One Tells You How Tough It Is to Be a Parent	9	(12)
What no one ever tells you until you become a parent	10	(6)
That was then, this is now	16	(5)
United We Stand, Divided We Fall	21	(15)
Childproofing your relationship with your partner	25	(2)
Stealing moments away with your partner	27	(2)
Keeping the sizzle in your sex life	29	(7)
Safety Valves, Safety Nets, and Other Parenting Tricks of the Trade	36	(7)
CHAPTER 2 Kid Under Construction	43	(40)
When Nature Meets Nurture	44	(20)
Your child's personality type	45	(11)
Parenting a "difficult" or spirited child	56	(2)
When worlds (and personalities!) collide	58	(4)
Your parenting style	62	(2)
Doing Yourself Out of a Job	64	(19)
Setting your child's moral compass	65	(10)
Swimming upstream: parenting in a commercial culture	75	(3)
The self-esteem toolkit: the gift that keeps on giving	78	(5)
CHAPTER 3 The Dirt on Discipline	83	(42)
What Discipline Means and Why Your Child Needs It	85	(3)
Keep your eyes on the prize	86	(1)
The more immediate payoff	87	(1)
The Most Common Types of Discipline Mistakes and How to Avoid Them	88	(15)
Not understanding what discipline is all about	88	(2)
Not knowing what techniques to use	90	(5)
Failing to ensure that the crime fits the punishment	95	(5)
It's all in the details	100	(3)
The Most-and Least-Effective Methods of Discipline	103	(17)
The top 1o discipline techniques	104	(13)
Three discipline methods you'll want to avoid	117	(2)
How your discipline methods evolve as your child gets older	119	(1)
Discipline methods that work well with preschoolers	119	(1)
Discipline methods that work well with school aged kids and preteens	120	(1)
Mother (and Father) Guilt	120	(5)
CHAPTER 4 Short-Circuiting Power Struggles before Someone Gets Zapped	125	(26)
Why Power Struggles Occur and What You Can Do to Avoid Them	127	(12)
Wounded animal syndrome	132	(1)
An ounce of prevention	132	(1)
Making your message heard	133	(3)
What your kids have to gain by getting you locked in a power struggle	136	(1)
...And what you have to lose	137	(2)
Teaching Your Child to Manage Her Emotions and Finding Ways to Manage Your Own	139	(12)
Anger Management Jr.	139	(8)
Anger Management Sr.	147	(4)
CHAPTER 5 Ain't Misbehavin': Coping with Behavior Problems	151	(36)
The Minor Leagues: Dealing with Routine Behavior Problems	152	(27)
Get with the program: modifying your child's behavior	153	(7)
The most common types of garden-variety behavior problems	160	(19)
The Major Leagues: More Serious Behavioral Problems	179	(6)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)	181	(3)
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)	184	(1)
Conduct disorder (CD)	184	(1)
Setting Standards for Your Child: How High Is Too High?	185	(2)
CHAPTER 6 Talking the Talk	187	(42)
Promoting Healthy Communication between Parent and Child	188	(7)
Oh Brother! (Oh Sister!) Dealing with Sibling Relationships	195	(12)
Why sibling relationships can be a minefield for parents	197	(1)
How to handle sibling conflicts	198	(4)
Other things you can do to promote healthy sibling relationships	202	(5)
Parenting Your One and Only	207	(2)
Dealing with Grandparents	209	(3)
Troubleshooting problems before they arise	210	(1)
Maintaining the bond with a long-distance grandparent	211	(1)
Getting Through the Tough Stuff Together	212	(14)
A death in the family	213	(6)
Separation or divorce	219	(3)
Life after divorce	222	(3)
Beyond Cinderella: Step-parenting success	225	(1)
Other Traumatic or Painful Events	226	(1)
How Stress Plays Out for Kids	227	(2)
CHAPTER 7 Playing It Smart	229	(46)
Countdown to Kindergarten	230	(10)
Is your child ready to start school?	230	(3)
What you can do to prepare your child for the first day of school	233	(5)
What you can do to prepare yourself for you: child's first day of school	238	(2)
What You Can Do to Help Your Child Succeed in School	240	(14)
Reading really is fundamental	245	(4)
A parents guide to homework	249	(5)
What Report Cards Can-and Can't-Tell You	254	(7)
How to interpret your child s report card	255	(1)
Dealing with report card shock	256	(3)
Does your child need a tutor?	259	(2)
Troubleshooting Common School-Related Problems and Concerns	261	(4)
School-related fears and anxieties	261	(2)
Working cooperatively with your child's school	263	(2)
Home-Schooling: Is It a Good Fit for Your Family?	265	(1)
Exceptional Kids, Exceptional Challenges	266	(9)
Does your child have a learning disability?	269	(1)
Is your child gifted?	270	(5)
CHAPTER 8 The Joy of Play	275	(46)
Stop the Extracurricular Insanity	277	(4)
"Screen Time": How Much Is Too Much?	281	(1)
The In-House Brain Drain: Kids and TV	282	(7)
Video Games: Do They Get a Bad Rap?	289	(6)
Kids and Computers	295	(7)
Surfer boys and girls: Kids and the Internet	297	(1)
Keeping kids safe online	297	(3)
Kids and Internet addiction	300	(2)
That's Entertainment? Music and Music Videos	302	(1)
Setting the Stage for Play	303	(7)
Boredom Busters: 22 Fabulous Ways to Banish Boredom at Home	310	(11)
CHAPTER 9 Social Studies: Kids and Friendship	321	(36)
Friendship 101	322	(10)
It's a girl thing	330	(2)
. . .and a boy thing	332	(1)
With Friends Like These	332	(7)
You can't choose your child's friends-or can you?	333	(2)
The truth about teasing	335	(4)
What Every Parent Needs to Know About Bullying	339	(3)
The fallout of bullying	338	(1)
What parents and teachers can do to stamp out bullying	339	(3)
The New Kid on the Block: Helping Your Child to Settle in after a Move	342	(2)
Play Date Do's and Don'ts	344	(1)
Birthday Parties	345	(4)
Sleepover Survival Tips	349	(3)
Summer Camp SOS	352	(1)
"The Meanest Mom in the World": Dealing with Other Families' Rules	353	(4)
CHAPTER 10 The Health Department	357	(112)
What's up, Doc?	358	(2)
The Facts on Immunization	360	(10)
How immunizations work	362	(4)
DTaP	366	(1)
Polio	366	(1)
Haemophilus influenza type B vaccine (Hib)	367	(1)
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine	367	(1)
About the chicken pox vaccine (Varivax)	368	(1)
About the Pneumococcal vaccine for children	369	(1)
How to Tell When Your Child Is Sick	370	(44)
Antibiotic Alert	414	(1)
More About Fever	415	(12)
Fever Isn't the Bad Guy; the Illness Is	415	(1)
This does not compute	416	(1)
What type of thermometer to use	417	(1)
How to take your child's temperature	418	(2)
What you need to know about febrile convulsions	420	(1)
When to call the doctor	421	(1)
Treating a fever	422	(5)
Your Top Pediatric Health Questions Answered	427	(36)
Caring for a Child with a Chronic Medical Condition	463	(6)
CHAPTER 11 The Worry Zone	469	(24)
Coping with the Worry That Goes Along with Being a Parent	470	(2)
The Most Common Types of Pediatric Injuries and How to Avoid Them	472	(7)
All-Seasons Safety	479	(2)
Preventing frostbite	479	(1)
Playing it safe in the summer	480	(1)
First Aid Essentials: What to Do When Your Child Is Injured	481	(9)
Stranger Danger: Streetproofing in the Real World	490	(3)
CHAPTER 12 Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy Kids	493	(30)
Nutrition on the Run: Nutrition Tips for Busy Families	494	(5)
Winning at Food Group Roulette	499	(8)
Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group	503	(1)
Vegetable Group	503	(1)
Fruit Group	504	(1)
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group	505	(1)
Meat and alternatives	506	(1)
No More Food Fights! De-stressing Family Mealtimes	507	(5)
Walking the Talk: Fun Ways to Stay Active as a Family	512	(4)
Promoting a Healthy Body Image	516	(7)
CHAPTER 13 The Changeling: The Joys and Perils of Parenting a Preteen	523	(20)
Puberty: What It Feels Like for a Girl (and a Boy)	524	(3)
What puberty is like for girls	525	(1)
What puberty is like for boys	526	(1)
The Big Talk(s)	527	(7)
Getting a dialogue going about smoking, alcohol, and drugs	527	(2)
Talking to your kids about sex	529	(5)
The Smaller Stuff	534	(1)
Turf Wars	535	(1)
Winning at Teen Roulette	536	(3)
The Gift of Parenthood	539	(4)
Appendices	543	(22)
Appendix A: Directory of Organizations	543	(14)
Appendix B: Web Site Directory	557	(8)
Index	565