Growing Up, A Parent’s Guide to Childhood, consultant editor Dr. Kate Cronan (DK Publishing, $ 19. 95 )
Part of the challenge of parenthood lies in dealing with the constant changes in a child’s behavior, personality and body.
At different times in a child’s life, a parent may wonder about potty-training, picky eating, sleep patterns, social behavior, physical development — the list goes on and on. Growing Up is intended to help parents understand what’s going on with their children at various stages of development.
The book’s advice and guidelines are taken from a panel of experts on child psychology and medicine. Each age, from 3 to 14, has a section in the book. The sections detail in easy-to-comprehend terms what to expect in growth and development, health, skills, emotions and personality.
Manners Made Easy for the Family, June Hines Moore (B&H Publishing, $ 14. 99 )
Little Rock manners expert June Hines Moore has expanded on her earlier Manners Made Easy book with a new one targeting family.
The book contains 366 tips arranged by etiquette categories: meeting and greeting, introductions, telephone and electronic manners, being a good guest or host, traveling, fine dining, church and conversation.
“Every member of every family has manners — good or bad,” Moore writes. “Our good manners show consideration for the feelings of others, while our bad ones reveal thoughtlessness and rudeness.” The book is clearly written and structured so that parents and children can focus on learning one new thing each day of the year (even on a leap year ).
I Hate Conflict, Lee Raffel (McGraw Hill, $ 16. 95 )
I Hate Conflict is for people who spend a lot of time avoiding conflict — the folks who walk through life trying not to leave a trail of shattered eggshells behind.
But unresolved conflict can affect our lives just as much as, or more than, facing it, says family therapist Lee Raffel. In her book, she offers a seven-step plan for handling conflict constructively. You’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself.
Raffel also identifies five conflict styles: avoiders (a show of hands, please ), fixers, goof-ups, antagonists and innovators. She goes further to explain the positive and negative qualities of each style of handling conflict so that people can help themselves by identifying their style. Once you know your conflict style, you’ll recognize the strategies for dealing with conflict without seeming defensive.
ScreamFree Parenting, Hal Edward Runkel (Broadway Books, $ 13. 95 )
Parenting is not about children, but parents, Hal Edward Runkel says in his new book. By that, he means that parents need to focus on improving their responses to stress in their lives, including that of parenting.
“The only way to retain a position of influence with our children is to regain a position of control over ourselves,” says Runkel, who is a parent and a family therapist.
In ScreamFree Parenting, Runkel offers strategies to help parents keep their cool and be a calming authority within a family. He provides real-life examples to illustrate the strategies.
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