When Good Kids Do Bad Things

In this clear and compassionate guide, an expert counselor offers help for parents dealing with the misbehavior of good kids. Here are step-by-step solutions for handling just about every explosive situation, plus advice on how parents can preserve their sanity.

There is perhaps no greater fear in a parent's heart than the thought that a much-loved and well-cared-for child will make bad choices or even become a prodigal. What are parents to do in such circumstances? Authors Jim Newheiser and Elyse Fitzpatrick speak from years of personal experience as both parents and biblical counselors about how hurting parents can deal with the emotional trauma of when a child goes astray. They offer concrete hope and encouragement along with positive steps parents can take even in the most negative situations. Includes excellent advice from Dr. Laura Hendrickson regarding medicines commonly prescribed to problem children, and offers questions parents can ask pediatricians before using behavioral medications. A heartfelt and practical guide for parents.

Solve typical toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness and self-control. Through stories from her practice, Claire Lerner shows parents how making critical mindshifts—seeing their children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. This process puts parents back in the driver’s seat, where they belong and where their children need them to be. These real life stories provide a roadmap for how to tune into the root causes of children’s behavior and how to create and implement strategies that are tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Through these stories, Claire provides a treasure trove of practical solutions that are based in science and which work in real life. Why Is My Child In Charge? picks up where other books have left parents hanging. Most parenting books offer solutions that sound good on paper but don’t work in practice. They are aspirational rather than achievable, or they offer one-size-fits-all approaches that don’t meet the needs of an individual child. They can compound parents’ feelings of frustration and thus, can be counterproductive. Case by case, Claire unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to solve the most common challenges such as throwing tantrums in public; delaying bedtime for hours; refusing to participate in family mealtimes; and resisting potty training. Employing a relatable story-telling approach, Claire elucidates: The faulty mindsets that pose obstacles to parents seeing the situation more objectively The essential mindshifts that enable parents to quickly identify the root causes of the problem The development of an action plan tailored to each unique child and family Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how you can develop “win-win” strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected and in-control parents. It will help you be the parent you want to be.

Every teenager rebels against authority at some point--talks back, breaks curfew, or disobeys. But literally millions of teens take their rebellion to a point where it disrupts their families and endangers their own futures or even their lives. If one of these teens is yours, you've probably lived through years of conflicting advice and pat solutions that don't last. Finally, this breakthrough guide from a master therapist will show you the seven steps to positive, permanent change for you and your teenager: 1. Learn the real reasons for teen misbehavior. 2. Make an ironclad contract to stop that behavior. 3. Troubleshoot future problems. 4. End button-pushing. 5. Stop the "seven aces" -- from disrespect to threats of violence. 6. Mobilize outside help. 7. Reclaim lost love within the family. Clear, compassionate, and packed with real-life solutions to real-life problems, Parenting Your Out-of-Control Teenager gives parents the tools they need to turn their families' lives around for good.

"Text first published in 1990 by Children's Press, Inc."

Denise Schipani shares her secret to being a 'Mean Mom,' and why it's better for your kids–and for you–in the long run." —Jen Singer, author You're a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either) "'Mean' moms make kids learn to do things for themselves from making breakfast to finding inner peace. I'm hoping I'm a little meaner myself after reading this book." —Lenore Skenazy, founder of the book and blog Free–Range Kids "I've chosen to be the kind of mother I feel is best, and that kind of mother is mean." MEAN MOMS SAY NO. MEAN MOMS ARE CONSISTENT. MEAN MOMS TRUST THEMSELVES. MEAN MOMS DON'T CARE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING. MEAN MOMS TEACH KIDS THE LIFE SKILLS THEY NEED TO KNOW. MEAN MOMS SLOW IT DOWN. MEAN MOMS FAIL THEIR KIDS A LITTLE BIT EVERY DAY. And mean moms prepare their kids for the world, not the world for their kids, raising children into adults who know how to make themselves happy. Mean Moms Rule. And their kids benefit Denise Schipani writes about all things mean and motherly at www.confessionsofameanmommy.com

By using positive methods of discipline parents have the opportunity to provide their children with an optimal home environment for healthy emotional growth and development.

PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.