The Available Parent

We have a tendency today to over-parent, micro-manage, and under-appreciate our adolescents. Dr. John Duffy's The Available Parent is a revolutionary approach to taking care of teens and tweens. Teenagers are often left feeling unheard and misunderstood, and parents are left feeling bewildered by the changes in their child at adolescence and their sudden lack of effectiveness as parents. The parent has become unavailable, the teen responds in kind, and a negative, often destructive cycle of communication begins. The available parent of a teenager is open to discussion, offering advice and solutions, but not insisting on them. He allows his child to make some mistakes, setting limits, primarily where health and safety are concerned. He never lectures — he is available but not controlling. He is neither cruel nor dismissive, ever. The available parent is fun and funny, and can bring levity to the most stressful situation. All of that is to say, there are no conditions to his availability — it is absolute.

Offers strategies and tips for building a stronger and healthier relationship between parents and teenagers that focuses on parents readjusting how they interact, interpret, and communicate with their children.

We have a tendency today to over-parent, micro-manage, and under-appreciate our adolescents. Dr. John Duffy's The Available Parent is a revolutionary approach to taking care of teens and tweens. Teenagers are often left feeling unheard and misunderstood, and parents are left feeling bewildered by the changes in their child at adolescence and their sudden lack of effectiveness as parents. The parent has become unavailable, the teen responds in kind, and a negative, often destructive cycle of communication begins. The available parent of a teenager is open to discussion, offering advice and solutions, but not insisting on them. He allows his child to make some mistakes, setting limits, primarily where health and safety are concerned. He never lectures -- he is available but not controlling. He is neither cruel nor dismissive, ever. The available parent is fun and funny, and can bring levity to the most stressful situation. All of that is to say, there are no conditions to his availability -- it is absolute.

The creator of Instagram’s House Plant Journal mixes love with scientific logic in this beautifully photographed guide for indoor gardeners. For indoor gardeners everywhere, Darryl Cheng offers a new way to grow healthy house plants. He teaches the art of understanding a plant’s needs and giving it a home with the right balance of light, water, and nutrients. With this book, indoor gardeners can be less a passive follower of rules for the care of each species and much more the confident, active grower, relying on observation and insight. And in the process, the plant owner becomes a plant lover, bonded to these beautiful living things by a simple love and appreciation of nature. The New Plant Parent covers all of the basics of growing house plants, from finding the right light, to everyday care like watering and fertilizing, to containers, to recommended species. Cheng’s friendly tone, personal stories, and accessible photographs fill his book with the same generous spirit that has made @houseplantjournal, his Instagram account, a popular source of advice and inspiration for over half a million indoor gardeners.

A groundbreaking guide to raising responsible, capable, happy kids Based on the latest research on brain development and extensive clinical experience with parents, Dr. Laura Markham’s approach is as simple as it is effective. Her message: Fostering emotional connection with your child creates real and lasting change. When you have that vital connection, you don’t need to threaten, nag, plead, bribe—or even punish. This remarkable guide will help parents better understand their own emotions—and get them in check—so they can parent with healthy limits, empathy, and clear communication to raise a self-disciplined child. Step-by-step examples give solutions and kid-tested phrasing for parents of toddlers right through the elementary years. If you’re tired of power struggles, tantrums, and searching for the right “consequence,” look no further. You’re about to discover the practical tools you need to transform your parenting in a positive, proven way.

Digital technology has changed the parenting territory dramatically in recent years. Suddenly we've been tasked with preparing kids to be safe, happy and successful, not just in the real world, but in the online world as well. Martine Oglethorpe is part of a new breed of parenting educator who nimbly stays abreast of technology changes while keeping one foot firmly grounded in the timeless ways that make families strong.Martine skilfully combines her professional expertise with the lived experience gained by guiding her own children down the pathway to being skilled, savvy digital citizens. In these pages lies the blueprint for parenting kids in the digital age. It shares how to be engaged in the digital lives of our children without being overbearing or burdensome; to know when to tread lightly as a parent and when care and caution need to be taken.

Has your daughter started wearing makeup and thinking about boys - years before you dreamed it could happen? Are you concerned that your son has been acting up and talking back - while you’re sure you should still be his hero? As you know, the ''tween'' years, which fall between the ages of eight and twelve, can often be a challenging time for both you and your child. The Everything Tween Book, written by child psychologist Dr. Linda Sonna, helps you navigate the trying years between childhood and adolescence. From addressing such serious issues as eating disorders and school violence to learning tolerance for pink and blue hair, The Everything Tween Book helps you understand and cope with your child’s psychological, social, and emotional needs. The Everything Tween Book provides sound, professional advice on: Understanding - and dealing with - rebellion Improving communication Disciplining Managing sibling spats Helping your tween face peer pressure Ensuring good health Teaching sex education Packed with practical advice and reliable tips to help you get through the worst conflicts, The Everything Tween Book ensures that you stay sane while your tween blossoms into a healthy, happy, and mature young adult.

"In the era of questionable Internet "facts" and parental oversharing, it's more important than ever to find credible information on everything from prenatal vitamins to screen time. The good news is that parents and parents-to-be no longer need to rely on an opinionated mother-in-law about whether it's okay to eat sushi in your third trimester, an old college roommate for sleep-training "rules," or an online parenting group about how long you should breastfeed (there's a vehement group for every opinion). Credible scientific studies are out there--and they're "bottom-lined" in this book. The ultimate resource for today's science-minded generation, The Informed Parent was written for readers who prefer facts to "friendly advice," and who prefer to make up their own minds, based on the latest findings as well as their own personal preferences. Science writers and parents themselves, authors Tara Haelle and Emily Willingham have sifted through thousands of research studies on dozens of essential topics and distill them in this essential and engaging book. "--