Much has been written about the rights owed to children: the right to live, the right to be nurtured and cared for, the right to an ample measure of health and happiness and, especially, the right to be loved. Here, twenty scholars from across sociological, psychological, historical, philosophical, theological, and legal disciplines argue that the right of children to be loved can best be fulfilled by teaching them how to love others. The Best Love of the Child explores and celebrates many aspects of family, culture, religion, and society and fosters a more nuanced understanding of that love which is truly at the heart of a child s best interest: love that flows freely not only to children but also from children.
Does your child speak a different language? Sometimes they wager for your attention, and other times they ignore you completely. Sometimes they are filled with gratitude and affection, and other times they seem totally indifferent. Attitude. Behavior. Development. Everything depends on the love relationship between you and your child. When children feel loved, they do their best. But how can you make sure your child feels loved? Since 1992, Dr. Gary Chapman's best-selling book The 5Love Languages has helped millions of couples develop stronger, more fulfilling relationships by teaching them to speak each others' love language. Each child, too, expresses and receives love through one of five different communication styles. And your love language may be totally different from that of your child. While you are doing all you can to show your child love, he may be hearing it as something completely opposite. Discover your child's primary language and learn what you can do to effectively convey unconditional feelings of respect, affection, and commitment that will resonate in your child's emotions and behavior.
Growing up in a financially strapped, South Georgia farming family, Julie Lavender learned to appreciate small yet meaningful affirmations of love when her parents found ways to visibly demonstrate their feelings. Later, when she had her own children, Julie delighted in finding creative ways to express her love for them, as well as for the children whose lives she touched through teaching school and volunteering in the children's ministry at her church. In 365 Ways to Love Your Child, Julie encourages moms, dads, and anyone who works with children to show kids every day with simple but meaningful gestures and activities how very much they are loved. Join Julie in expressing tangible acts of love to show your kids they are valued by their parents and, most especially, by God.
This is the story of Harvey Weisenberg—a lifeguard, teacher, policeman, and eventually a New York politician, who quietly made a difference in the lives of millions of children and adults with special needs. In the summer of 1965, Harvey, a lifelong resident of Long Beach, New York, met two people who would make a profound impact on his life: Ellen Laufer and her seven-year-old son, Ricky, who had been born with cerebral palsy and was severely disabled. That day at the Coral Reef Beach Club in Lido Beach, where Harvey worked as a lifeguard, was the beginning of a love story that continues to this day. Not only did Harvey fall in love with Ellen, he also fell in love with Ricky, who introduced him to the challenges of both children with special needs and their families. Through this relationship, Harvey found his life’s mission. For the Love of a Child tells the story of the people who inspired Harvey early on, as well as the City of Long Beach, which greatly influenced his life in public service. He held office for thirty-eight years, thirteen as a council member in Long Beach and twenty-five in Albany as a state assemblyman. During this time, he worked with—and in some cases, bumped heads with—five New York governors. As a legislator, Harvey’s priorities were always for the people, not political agendas, as his story shows. Harvey knows first hand that children with special needs are filled with unconditional love. God gave him an angel in Ricky, a saint in Ellen, and, thanks to both, a mission that allowed him to spend his life making sure that children like Ricky and their families are given the best quality of life. Through his story, Harvey shares the important work he did, the challenges he met, and the life-changing experiences he has had along the way.
When Allegra Huston was four years old, her mother was killed in a car crash. Soon afterward, she was introduced to an intimidating man wreathed in cigar smoke -- the legendary film director John Huston -- with the words, "This is your father." So began an extraordinary odyssey: from the magical Huston estate in Ireland to the Long Island suburbs to a hidden paradise in Mexico -- and, at the side of her older sister, Anjelica, into the hilltop retreats of Jack Nicholson, Ryan O'Neal, and Marlon Brando. Allegra's is the penetrating gaze of an outsider never quite sure if she belongs in this rarefied world and of a motherless child trying to make sense of her famous, fragmented family. Then, at the age of twelve, Allegra's precarious sense of self was shattered when she was, once more, introduced to her father -- her real one this time, the British aristocrat and historian John Julius Norwich. At the heart of Love Child is Allegra's search through the unreliable certainties of memory for the widely adored mother she never knew -- the ghost who shadowed her childhood and left her in a web of awkward and unwelcome truths. With clear-eyed tenderness, Allegra tells of how she forged bonds with both her famous fathers, transforming her mother's difficult legacy into a hard-won blessing. Beautifully written and forensically honest, Love Child is a seductive insight into one of Hollywood's great dynasties and the story of how, in a family that defied convention, one woman found her balance on the shifting sands of conflicting loyalties.
Using the relational development approach of Gordon Neufeld, the author offers a road map to making sense of the behavior of young children and understanding their developmental growth.
Topics include communicating unconditional love; handling a child's anger by teaching him how to express it; coping with adolescent depression; helping children grow spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually; and recognizing and understanding attention deficit disorder.
