Parenting Matters

Parenting Matters

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-11-21

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 0309388570

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Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.


Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-07-23

Total Pages: 587

ISBN-13: 0309324882

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Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.


Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents

Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents

Author: Sara A. Whitcomb

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-08-30

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 1317601599

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Generally recognized as the standard work in its field, Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents is a comprehensive guide for conducting conceptually sound, culturally responsive, and ecologically oriented assessments of students’ social and emotional behavior. Written for graduate students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of school psychology, child clinical psychology, and special education, it will also be of interest to those in related disciplines. Building on the previous editions, this fifth edition includes updated references to DSM-5 and federal standards as well as an integrated approach to culturally competent assessment throughout the text. In Part I, Foundations and Methods of Assessment, the author provides a general foundation for assessment practice and outlines basic professional and ethical issues, cultural considerations, and classification and diagnostic problems. Part II, Assessment of Specific Problems, Competencies, and Populations, includes material on assessing specific social–emotional behavior domains, including externalizing problems, internalizing problems, social skills and social–emotional strengths, and the unique needs of young children. A chapter on school-wide screening methods was also added with this edition. By weaving together the most recent research evidence and common application issues in a scholarly yet practical matter, Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents continues to be the pre-eminent foundation for assessment courses.


Psychotherapy of Preoedipal Conditions

Psychotherapy of Preoedipal Conditions

Author: Hyman Spotnitz

Publisher: Jason Aronson, Incorporated

Published: 1995-08-01

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1461630223

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In Psychotherapy of Preoedipal Conditions, Hyman Spotnitz and his contributors demonstrate how to develop and use emotional interchange that fosters a climate of increasing emotional complexity and facilitates the psychological development of both parties in the therapeutic relationship. Written from a developmental perspective, this volume discusses the treatment of one of the most severe psychopathologies, schizophrenia, as well as the practice of analytic group psychotherapy with this and other disturbed populations.


Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents

Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents

Author: Kenneth Merrell W

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-04

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 1136800034

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This book provides a comprehensive foundation for conducting clinical assessments of child and adolescent social-emotional behavior in a practical, scientific, and culturally appropriate manner. It is aimed at graduate students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of school psychology, child clinical psychology, and special education but will also be of interest to those in related disciplines such as counseling psychology, child psychiatry, and social work. Section I, Foundations and Methods of Assessment, covers basic professional and ethical issues, classification and diagnostic problems, and comprehensive introductions to six primary assessment methods: behavioral observation, behavior rating scales, clinical interviewing, sociometric techniques, self-report instruments, and projective-expressive techniques. Section II, Assessment of Specific Problems, Competencies, and Populations, includes six chapters for assessing specific socio-emotional behavior domains: externalizing problems, internalizing problems, other problems, social skills and peer relations, young children, and diverse cultural groups. Key features include: New Material - Provides expanded coverage of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity within socio-emotional assessment; new material on conducting assessments within the context of ecological theory and public health models; increased information on assessing children with Asperger's disorder or high-function Autism, and discussions of several new assessment tools and systems. Evidence-Based Focus - Maintains a focus on empirically validated methods that research has shown to have adequate validity and reliability. Problem Solving Focus - Throughout the book, assessment is linked to decision-making within a problem-solving framework. Functional Focus - Maintains a focus on making assessments functional within specific contexts and environments.