Facing an unplanned pregnancy at twenty-two, Amy Seek and her ex-boyfriend begin an exhaustive search for a family to raise their child. They sift through hundreds of "Dear Birth Mother" letters, craft an extensive questionnaire, and interview numerous potential couples. Despite the immutability of the surrender, it does little to diminish Seek's newfound feelings of motherhood. Once an ambitious architecture student, she struggles to reconcile her sadness with the hope that she's done the best for her son, a struggle complicated by her continued, active presence in his life.For decades, closed adoptions were commonplace. Now, new laws are guaranteeing adoptees' access to birth records, and open adoption is on the rise. God and Jetfire is the rare memoir that explores the intricate dynamics and exceptional commitment of an open-adoption relationship from the perspective of a birth mother searching for her place within it. Written with literary poise and distinction, God and Jetfire is a story of a life divided between grief and gratitude, regret and joy. It is an elegy for a lost motherhood, a celebration of a family gained, and an apology to a beloved son.

    Textbook theory and evidenced-based speech therapy techniques are applied in an enjoyable and user-friendly way. Whether you’re a parent or a professional, Kimberly shows you how to engage your toddler with play routines that stimulate speech while having fun. The guide includes detailed steps, numerous examples, and play routine activities to facilitate learning and language development. Speech language pathologists and parents describe My Toddler Talks as: “a go to resource”, “unintimidating and user-friendly” and “simply fabulous!”MY TODDLER TALKS includes:•Effective language stimulation tips, techniques and strategies used by professional speech therapists•Advice on how to maximize your child’s potential without causing pressure or frustration•25 fun play routines designed to improve your child’s speech and language skills•Straightforward instructions with many examples to foster understanding and empowerment•Step by step directions on how to elicit communication from your child•Charts to monitor progress with your child•A system to track your child’s word growth•Ways to incorporate speech development activities into your daily routines•Recommended goals to drive results•Ideas for troubleshooting development setbacksMY TODDLER TALKS is the perfect resource for:•Parents, Grandparents & Caregivers•Speech Therapists•Speech Therapy Grad Students•Early Intervention Specialists•Early Childhood Educators•Occupational & Physical Therapists

    Those who are used to managing their time in the workplace can be tempted to try to manage their infant in the same way. So-called "controlled crying" has been recommended by many recent childcare guides, but parents should be aware of the high cost of such methods to their baby. In The Essential First Year Penelope Leach shows parents how they can reach a harmonious balance between their baby's needs and their own. While babies and their needs have not changed, our lifestyles have, and Penelope Leach has written the perfect manual for busy 21st century parents, which spans from pregnancy to the child's first birthday. The book is a gentle, but timely reminder that the fundamental purpose of having children is to share happiness. The happier a baby is, the more parents will enjoy being with him or her; being responsive to one's baby does not mean that it has to be at personal expense - the happiness of parents and baby is inextricably intertwined. The Essential First Year is not just full of sensible, practical advice, it is backed by more than ten years of new research into infant development, especially in brain growth, which now confirms, for instance, just how much fathers matter to their infant's progress, how girls' and boys' brains are different at birth (and developdifferently) and how helping a baby to be calm, contented, amused, and interested leads to optimum development of body and brain. Using such information, Penelope Leach shows parents how to deal with problems as well as how to prevent them. Every parent wants to do the best for their baby and for the child that the baby will become. The Essential First Year gives parents the knowledge and the tools to nurture and care for every aspect of their infant's life - to meet the baby's physical needs, to stimulate their intellectual development and ensure their emotional well-being - and most importantly, The Essential First Year helps parents to simply enjoy being parents.

    Whenparents change the way they parent, kids change the way they live. Thispractical book explores a theology of internal motivation and then givesparents real-life solutions to equip their kids for life.You’ll learn . . . •          howto parent in ways that build internal motivation so that kids don’t have torely on you to get things done.•          thefour promptings of the conscience and how to coordinate your parenting to takeadvantage of them.•          waysto energize your spiritual training with fun and creativity.•          howto help children respond to mistakes instead of blaming, defending, or justifying.The greatest gift you can give your child is strong moraland spiritual development—this book shows you how. Every chapter includespractical examples of families applying the Bible to their current issues.Join the revolution!

    If you are one of the millions of remarried Americans facing the challenge of blending two existing families into one cohesive whole, you are part of a stepcouple—and you know all too well how hard it can be to make your marriage work in sometimes tough terrain. Different parenting styles, finances, relationships with ex-spouses, legal matters, and even seemingly simple issues such as the kinds of chores assigned to children can chisel away at your union if you don’t always make your marriage a priority. Stepcoupling offers advice for stepcouples on how to do just that—all the while strengthening their blended family with a healthy marriage. Susan Wisdom and Jennifer Green provide tips and strategies on dealing with the issues remarried couples face, with a wealth of advice from real-life stepcouples, such as:* Learning to tailor your expectations of your spouse or children and remembering that no family is perfect* Knowing where your boundaries are, whether involving a hostile ex-spouse or a stepchild who demands too much attention* Realizing that traits like flexibility, tolerance, forgiveness, and openness are especially essential in a stepfamily situation* Making “us” time for talking, problem-solving, weekends away, and enjoying your marriage to constantly renew and strengthen your bond as a coupleLet this invaluable remarriage manual help you make your stepcouple the foundation of a strong, happy, and successful stepfamily.

     Boys tend to take longer to be trained, learn this skill at later ages, and have different challenges from girls. Parents will find an accessible plan for getting their son trained quickly, clever games to make learning to use the toilet fun, as well as important tips for handling accidents and setbacks.The book includes advice on boy-specific problems, such as whether to teach him to sit or stand and how to aim, dealing with distractions, handling refusals, and staying dry through the night. Practical and reassuring, Potty Training Boys the Easy Way is packed with all the information a family needs to achieve this important milestone calmly and confidently.

    Everything that modern parents need to know about caring for babies in the first 6 months, including: step by step guidelines for getting babies on a routine hour by hour schedule at a glance; feeding instructions for breast, bottle, or both; what symptoms warrant a trip to the emergency room; how to get your baby to sleep all night so you can too; plus much more.

    Doctors recommend it. Reviewers praise it. Pregnant couples rely on it. With over 70 new topics covered, and completely updated throughout to keep up with trends, new products, and safety recommendations, this comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use guide includes:• Detailed descriptions of baby’s developmental milestones each week• Clear illustrations of how both mother and baby are changing and growing• Up-to-date information about medical tests and procedures• Tips on nutrition and lifestyle and the ways actions affect baby• Safe weekly exercises to help mother stay in shape and comfortable• Helpful hints for the father-to-be and information on how a pregnancy affects a couple

    In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do kids need — and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them. One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including "time-outs"), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send. More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from "doing to" to "working with" parenting — including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

    But what’s going on inside that five-year-old head? What stages of development does a child this age go through, and what should parents know that can help their five-year-old handle this impressionable year? Recognized authorities on child behavior and development, Drs. Ames and Ilg answer these and many other questions, offering both invaluable practical advice and enlightening psychological insights.  Included in this book: • Characteristics of age Five • The child and others • Discipline • Accomplishments and abilities • The child’s mind • School • The five-year-old party • Individuality • Stories from real life • Good books and toys for Fives • Books for parents  “Louise Bates Ames and her colleagues synthesize a lifetime of observation of children, consultation, and discussion with parents. These books will help parents to better understand their children and will guide them through the fascinating and sometimes trying experiences of modern parenthood.”—Donald J. Cohen, M.D., Director, Yale Child Study Center, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology, Yale School of Medicine

    

    Wife Abandonment Syndrome is a pattern of behavior on the part of a husband who leaves his wife out-of-the-blue from what she believed was a happy marriage. Following his sudden departure, he replaces the caring he'd typically shown her with anger and aggression. He often moves directly in with a girlfriend, leaving his bewildered wife totally devastated. Written by family therapist Vikki Stark who was herself affected by Wife Abandonment Syndrome, Runaway Husbands helps women understand what motivated their loving husbands to turn into uncaring strangers and provides them with the tools they need to move forward and rebuild their lives in new and unexpected ways.

    They have covered everything from the Olympics and the Gulf War to natural disasters and the AIDS crisis in Africa. Now these two married journalists and parents have collaborated on the most personal and important “story” of their lives. Been There, Done That is a funny, heartfelt, and empowering collection of life lessons, hard-won wisdom, and instructive family anecdotes from Al and Deborah’s lives, from their parents and grandparents, and from dear friends, famous and not. Here, Al and Deborah candidly share childhood obstacles like obesity and growing up in the segregated south; the challenges and blessings that come from raising very different kids; hard-won truths about marriage and career; the illuminating “little things” that adults can learn from children; and the genuine wisdom that the elderly can share with a younger generation. These are real-life stories told from every perspective—from parent, spouse, daughter, son, and friend, stories that every reader can relate to, appreciate, and share.

    When you are the mother of boys, it seems like this question is on a continuous tape loop in your head. Humor columnist Sharon O’Donnell knows this feeling. In House of Testosterone, she chronicles her adventures raising three sons and reining in her über-male, forgetful husband, Kevin. She shares her stories of welcoming her third son into the world, resisting the gravitational pull of the “guy zone,” and running a household immersed in a world of sports, bathroom humor, and laundry. O’Donnell’s spirit shines through as she struggles to find some “me time” or survive another comical family vacation.These entertaining episodes of child- (and husband-) rearing lovingly illustrate why Sharon calls herself “Lady of the House of Testosterone.”