Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"What an awesome responsibility: To shape the future by how we raise our child today."
"Hugs don't just touch skin - they touch hearts and souls"
"If you wanted to do just one great thing for your child every day, let it be reading."
"Children are unfinished adults. They have all the same ingredients but they just aren't cooked yet."
| INTRODUCTION | |
| Dedication & Acknowledgements | V |
| Introductory Welcome | VI
|
| Chapter 1: ACCENT ON GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT | 1 |
| 10 Factors That Shape Our Attitudes and Behaviors | 2 |
| Circles of Influence | 6 |
| Recognizing Generational “Passdowns” | 9 |
| The “Ideal Kid” | 10 |
| Genetics and Environment Combine to Frame Behavior | 12 |
| Learning Styles | 13 |
| Some Things We Need to Know About Childhood Development Issues | 16 |
| What Is “Normal” Behavior for the Pre-teen/Teen? | 19 |
| Wellness and Balance is Essential for Successful Living | 22 |
| Examining Our Hierarchy of Human Needs | 25 |
| The Relationship of Life Events to Stress | 29 |
| Tying All of These Developmental Concepts Together | 31 |
| Self-Assessment | 33 |
| Chapter 2: ACCENT ON BUILDING GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS | 35 |
| Precision, Congruency, and Clarity | 36 |
| Communication Loop | 37 |
| Basic Communication Viewpoints of Adult and Child | 38 |
| The Importance of Understanding Body Language (Kinesics) | 39 |
| The use of Space in Relationship to Communication (Proxemics) | 42 |
| “THE Questions” Every Parent Should Ask | 44 |
| “Thudders” – What Doesn’t Work in Verbal Communication | 44 |
| The Power of “We” | 48 |
| Other Powerful Words | 48 |
| The Emotional Mirroring Technique | 49 |
| Three-Part Assertion Sentences | 50 |
| “What Are We Going to Do About It?” | 52 |
| How Many Times? | 53 |
| Technology and Communication | 54 |
| Self-Assessment | 55 |
| Chapter 3: ACCENT ON SUCCESSFUL DECISIONMAKING SKILLS | 57 |
| Graduated Decisionmaking | 58 |
| At-risk Factors and Decisionmaking | 59 |
| 10-Point Plan for Making Safer Decisions | 61 |
| THE Questions, again | 63 |
| Remaining Sane When Kids Make Choices | 63 |
| Making Decisions About My Own Behavior As a Parent (mentoring) | 64 |
| Self-Assessment | 66 |
| Chapter 4: ACCENT ON STRENGTHENING SELF-ESTEEM | 68 |
| Defi nition of Self-esteem | 68 |
| Elements of Self-esteem | 69 |
| Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions | 73 |
| Words | 74 |
| Resolving conflict | 77 |
| Self-Assessment | 80 |
| Chapter 5: ACCENT ON DEVELOPING A DISCIPLINE PLAN | 81 |
| Defining Discipline | 81 |
| “Time Out” – A Good Technique to Use With Young Ones | 83 |
| A Word About Spanking: “To Spank or Not to Spank?” | 85 |
| A Word About Anger | 86 |
| A Discussion About Abuse | 87 |
| What Teens Th ink of Violence and Why Kids Are Killing Kids | 93 |
| The Importance of Consistency | 100 |
| Deciding the House Rules | 101 |
| Customizing Discipline Plans | 102 |
| Specifi cally About Discipline for Pre-teens/Teens | 104 |
| Self-Assessment | 108 |
| Chapter 6: ACCENT ON ADDITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: CO-PARENTING, STEP-PARENTING, TEEN PARENTING, AND GRANDPARENTING | 109 |
| Co-Parenting | 110 |
| Talking About Divorce | 114 |
| Step-Parenting | 115 |
| Teen Parenting | 117 |
| Grandparenting | 118 |
| Self-Assessment | 121 |
| SUMMARY: ACCENT ON PRACTICAL PARENTING PRACTICES | 122 |
| Random Thoughts | 123 |
| Resilience | 123 |
| The Importance of Literacy | 124 |
| The Importance of Financial Literacy | 125 |
| The Importance of Understanding Nutrition Basics | 126 |
| “Ten Moral Suggestions” | 128 |
| Raising Self-reliant Children | 129 |
| Dr. Leo Buscaglia | 129 |
| IMPORTANT RESOURCES FOR PARENTS | 131 |
| GLOSSARY OF TERMS | 132 |
| INDEX | 137 |
| FINAL EXAMINATION | 143 |
