Parenting & Families Books - Page 5

The Happiest Toddler on the Block: The New Way to Stop the Daily Battle of Wills and Raise a Secure and Well-Behaved One- to Four-Year-Old

Harvey Karp, Paula Spencer

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Subjects -> Parenting & Families -> Parenting -> Babies & Toddlers -> Toddlers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 115 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Toddlers can drive you bonkers…so adorable and fun one minute…so stubborn and demanding the next! Yet, as unbelievable as it sounds, there is a way to turn the daily stream of “nos” and “don’ts” into “yeses” and hugs…if you know how to speak your toddler’s language. In one of the most useful advances in parenting techniques of the past twenty-five years, Dr. Karp reveals that toddlers, with their immature brains and stormy outbursts, should be thought of not as pint-size people but as pintsize…cavemen.

Having noticed that the usual techniques often failed to calm crying toddlers, Dr. Karp discovered that the key to effective communication was to speak to them in their own primitive language. When he did, suddenly he was able to soothe their outbursts almost every time! This amazing success led him to the realization that children between the ages of one and four go through four stages of “evolutionary” growth, each linked to the development of the brain, and each echoing a step in prehistoric humankind’s journey to civilization:

• The “Charming Chimp-Child” (12 to 18 months): Wobbles around on two legs, grabs everything in reach, plays a nonstop game of “monkey see monkey do.”
• The “Knee-High Neanderthal” (18 to 24 months): Strong-willed, fun-loving, messy, with a vocabulary of about thirty words, the favorites being “no” and “mine.”
• The “Clever Caveman” (24 to 36 months):
Just beginning to learn how to share, make friends, take turns, and use the potty.
• The “Versatile Villager” (36 to 48 months): Loves to tell stories, sing songs and dance, while trying hard to behave.

To speak to these children, Dr. Karp has developed two extraordinarily effective techniques:
1) The “fast food” rule—restating what your child has said to make sure you got it right;
2) The four-step rule—using gesture, repetition, simplicity, and tone to help your
irate Stone-Ager be happy again.

Once you’ve mastered “toddler-ese,” you will be ready to apply behavioral techniques specific to each stage of your child’s development, such as teaching patience and calm, doing time-outs (and time-ins), praise through “gossiping,” and many other strategies. Then all the major challenges of the toddler years—including separation anxiety, sibling rivalry, toilet training, night fears, sleep problems, picky eating, biting and hitting, medicine taking — can be handled in a way that will make your toddler feel understood. The result: fewer tantrums, less yelling, and, best of all, more happy, loving time for you and your child.


From the Hardcover edition.

What to Expect the Toddler Years

Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 132 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

They guided you through pregnancy, they guided you through baby's first year, and now they'll guide you through the toddler years. In a direct continuation of What to Expect When You're Expecting (over 9.6 million copies in print) and What to Expect the First Year (over 5.6 million copies in print), America's bestselling pregnancy and childcare authors turn their uniquely comprehensive, lively, and reassuring coverage to years two and three.

Organized month by month for the second year (months 12-24) and quarterly through the third year (months 24-36), What to Expect the Toddler Years covers each growth and development phase parents are likely to encounter-when they're likely to encounter it. Hundreds of questions and answers treat everything from eating and sleeping problems to day care, tantrums, bottle mouth, shyness, self-esteem, and more. An entire third section of the book is devoted to toilet training, safety, and health, and a fourth covers special concerns-the exceptional child, siblings, and balancing work and parenting.

Remarkably thorough, caring and intelligent, What to Expect the Toddler Years is as valuable for the seasoned parent as it is for the new parent. 2.4 million copies in print.

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too

Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 68 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

With a title like this, it's no surprise that authors Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish had a monster bestseller on their hands when the book first appeared in 1988. From the subsequent deluge of readers' stories, questions, and issues, they have created nearly 50 pages of new material for this, the 10th anniversary edition. The central message remains the same, and sounds almost too simple: avoid comparisons. But parents know that's easier said than done. The value of Faber and Mazlish's discussions is precisely that they talk you through umpteen different situations and outcomes to help you teach your brawling offspring a new set of responses. The highly informative text is punctuated with helpful summary/reminder boxes and cartoons illustrating key points. It's a must-read for parents with (or planning on) multiple children. But parents of young children who get along fine (so far) should read it too--as the authors make very clear, rivalry is inevitable. The only question is how to manage the rivalry with intelligence and compassion, and on that subject they offer a wealth of good advice. --Richard Farr

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Ina May Gaskin

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Total reviews: 201 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you.

Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention.

Filled with inspiring birth stories and practical advice, this invaluable resource includes:• Reducing the pain of labor without drugs--and the miraculous roles touch and massage play

• What really happens during labor
• Orgasmic birth--making birth pleasurable
• Episiotomy--is it really necessary?
• Common methods of inducing labor--and which to avoid at all costs
• Tips for maximizing your chances of an unmedicated labor and birth
• How to avoid postpartum bleeding--and depression
• The risks of anesthesia and cesareans--what your doctor
doesn’t necessarily tell you
• The best ways to work with doctors and/or birth care providers
• How to create a safe, comfortable environment for
birth in any setting, including a hospital
• And much more

Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth takes the fear out of childbirth by restoring women’s faith in their own natural power to give birth with more ease, less pain, and less medical intervention.

Creating Moments of Joy: A Journal for Caregivers, Fourth Edition (NEW COVER)

Jolene Brackey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A ray of sunshine and hope 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Through tears of joy I read the first pages of "Creating Moments of Joy", a journal of hope and joy. This is a must read for families who have loved ones with Alzheimers. Jolene gives us such sensible answers about the mysteries of this disease and helps us to realize where our Alzheimer patients are coming from and how we can calm their fears and give them mements of joy. This is such a confusing illness to the patient and the caregivers, and the author provides concrete examples and illustrations of how to make precious memories and moments of joy for the entire family. Thank you so much for such a wonderful book.....the best I have read of this subject.

Editorial Review:

Jolene Brackey has a vision. A vision that will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease and focus more of our energy on creating moments of joy. When a person has short-term memory loss, his life is made up of moments. But if you think about it, our memory is made up of moments, too. We are not able to create a perfectly wonderful day with someone who has dementia, but it is absolutely attainable to create a perfectly wonderful moment; a moment that puts a smile on their face, a twinkle in their eye, or triggers a memory. Five minutes later, they won't remember what you did or said, but the feeling you left them with will linger.

The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy

Vicki Iovine

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Total reviews: 1036 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Disappointing... 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was really just 18 chapters worth of the author whining about how uncomfortable her four (!) pregnancies were, and giving all other pregnant women permission to whine and moan our way through our respective pregnancies, too. I was especially bothered by how the author goes on and on discouraging exercise and portion control, justifying this by saying that she gained "a lot" of weight and then lost it, blah, blah, blah. Later in the book, she reveals that she gained about 35 lbs with each pregnancy. The recommended weight gain for an average size (more on that later) woman is 25-35 lbs, last I checked. So this was within normal limits. So why is the author acting as though she packed on 70 lbs? Further, I think the author needs just ONE MORE reference to her dismay at not fitting into her size 4 clothes during pregnancy. Size 4? Seriously? Let's rub that into the faces of all of the average-sized women out there reading your book. I was very disappointed in this book and saw it as a combination of the granting of permission to whine, as well as making women feel even worse about themselves in a backhanded way, through the authors multiple references to her size-4 self.

Editorial Review:

Beginning with the "10 Greatest Lies About Pregnancy" (number 10: Lamaze works), and ending with postpartum dementia, Vicki Iovine's Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy has fast become the laywoman's mouthpiece for the American pregnancy experience. Iovine is irreverent, sassy, and incredibly reassuring as she exposes the "truths" of pregnancy and childbirth, from sex to cellulite to cesareans. Iovine birthed four kids in six years, none of them twins, which certainly qualifies her as an expert. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy does reveal Iovine's particular cultural biases (pregnant or not, most of us don't have record-producer husbands, hang out with supermodels, or wear size-four pants) and philosophical beliefs (she's not a particularly strong proponent of natural childbirth or nursing), but, taken with a grain or two of salt, she provides many hilarious moments, acres of advice, and honest reassurance readers will find nowhere else. --Ericka Lutz

The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder, Revised Edition

Carol Stock Kranowitz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Incredible, life changing book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you have a child that is just a little "out-of-sync" with their peers, this book is for you! A college friend that was a practicing Occupational Therapist recommended this book after I asked for her opinion on my second childs behavior during a gathering of friends at our home a few years ago. At the time (2003 - I read the first edition of the book), not many doctors or therapists were educated in working with sensory disorders. Even today 5 years later, many people will look at you like you have 10 heads if you start talking about it. I however, felt that the author must have been hiding in my house while writing the book. It was my child to a tee! I have continued to recommend this book no less than once a month since then and get feedback from people that it was perfect for understanding their child.

Editorial Review:

NEWLY REVISED AND UPDATED

The Out-of-Sync Child broke new ground by identifying Sensory Processing Disorder, a common but frequently misdiagnosed problem in which the central nervous system misinterprets messages from the senses. This newly revised edition features additional information from recent research on vision and hearing deficits, motor skill problems, nutrition and picky eaters, ADHA, autism, and other related disorders.

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage

Willard F. Harley Jr.

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Total reviews: 199 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Marriage works only when each spouse takes the time to consider the other's needs and strives to meet them. In His Needs, Her Needs, Willard Harley identifies the ten most vital needs of men and women and shows husbands and wives how to satisfy those needs in their spouses. He provides guidance for becoming irresistible to your spouse and for loving more creatively and sensitively, thereby eliminating the problems that often lead to extramarital affairs. The revised anniversary edition of His Needs, Her Needs is a celebration of how the book has helped thousands of couples revitalize their marriages during the last fifteen years. This best-seller identifies the causes of marital difficulties and instructs couples on how to prevent them, guiding them to build a relationship that sustains romance and increases intimacy. With today's soaring divorce rate and prevalence of affairs, Harley's insights are needed more than ever before. An unabridged recording of His Needs, Her Needs, the 15th anniversary edition, is now available as an audio book.

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss what Matters Most

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Roger Fisher

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Total reviews: 127 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

We've all been there: We know we must confront a coworker, store clerk, or friend about some especially sticky situation--and we know the encounter will be uncomfortable. So we repeatedly mull it over until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumble through the confrontation. Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, offers advice for handling these unpleasant exchanges in a manner that accomplishes their objective and diminishes the possibility that anyone will be needlessly hurt. The authors, associated with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Project on Negotiation, show how such dialogues actually comprise three separate components: the "what happened" conversation (verbalizing what we believe really was said and done), the "feelings" conversation (communicating and acknowledging each party's emotional impact), and the "identity" conversation (expressing the situation's underlying personal meaning). The explanations and suggested improvements are, admittedly, somewhat complicated. And they certainly don't guarantee positive results. But if you honestly are interested in elevating your communication skills, this book will walk you through both mistakes and remedies in a way that will boost your confidence when such unavoidable clashes arise. --Howard Rothman

Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood

Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 131 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This clear and valuable book dispels a variety of myths about attention deficit disorder (ADD). Since both authors have ADD themselves, and both are successful medical professionals, perhaps there's no surprise that the two myths they attack most persistently are: (a) that ADD is an issue only for children; and (b) that ADD corresponds simply to limited intelligence or limited self-discipline. "The word disorder puts the syndrome entirely in the domain of pathology, where it should not entirely be. Although ADD can generate a host of problems, there are also advantages to having it, advantages that this book will stress, such as high energy, intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm, and they are completely overlooked by the 'disorder' model." The authors go on to cite Mozart and Einstein as examples of probable ADD sufferers. (The problem as they see it is not so much attention deficit but attention inconsistency: "Most of us with ADD can in fact hyperfocus at times.") Although they warn against overdiagnosis, they also do a convincing job of answering the criticism that "everybody, and therefore nobody" has ADD. Using numerous case studies and a discussion of the way ADD intersects with other conditions (e.g., depression, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), they paint a concrete picture of the syndrome's realities. Especially helpful are the lists of tips for dealing with ADD in a child, a partner, or a family member. --Richard Farr