In "The Single Parent's Survival Guide: Managing Life's Challenges Alone," Avery Nightingale offers a heartfelt and practical resource for single parents navigating the complexities of raising children solo. With over 500,000 children being raised by grandparents, the need for support and understanding is more pressing than ever. Nightingale reassures readers that they are not alone, providing a roadmap for managing the myriad challenges of single parenthood. From the humorous moments to the heartfelt joys, this book offers a "down-home" no-nonsense approach to parenting. Delving into the rise of single-parent households and the societal shifts that have contributed to this phenomenon, Nightingale offers encouragement and guidance for building positive and constructive lives for both parent and child. With a wealth of support available, single parents can find comfort in knowing they have many hands to help balance the demands of parenthood. "The Single Parent's Survival Guide" is an essential companion for anyone embarking on the journey of single parenthood.
This book of parent-to-parent advice aims to encourage, support, and bolster the morale of one of music's most important back-up sections: music parents. Within these pages, more than 150 veteran music parents contribute their experiences, reflections, warnings, and helpful suggestions for how to walk the music-parenting tightrope: how to be supportive but not overbearing, and how to encourage excellence without becoming bogged down in frustration. Among those offering advice are the parents of several top musicians, including the mother of violinist Joshua Bell, the father of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, the parents of cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and those of violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. The book also features advice from music educators and more than forty professional musicians, including Paula Robison, Sarah Chang, Anthony McGill, Jennifer Koh, Jonathan Biss, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Marin Alsop, Christian McBride, Miguel Zen?n, Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Kelli O'Hara, as well as Joshua Bell, Alisa Weilerstein, Wynton Marsalis, Anne Akiko Meyers, and others. The topics they discuss span a wide range of issues faced by the parents of both instrumentalists and singers, from how to get started and encourage effective practice habits, to how to weather the rough spots, cope with the cost of music training, deal with college and career concerns, and help young musicians discover the role that music can play in their lives. The parents who speak here reach a unanimous and overwhelming conclusion that music parenting is well worth the effort, and the experiences that come with it - from sitting in on early lessons and watching their kids perform onstage to tagging along at music conventions as their youngsters try out instruments at exhibitors' booths - enrich family life with a unique joy in music.
Every day, working mothers encounter and overcome new challenges large and small at home, at the office, and on the road. From the editors of Working Mother, veteran working moms themselves, this book offers clear, straightforward solutions and practical shortcuts. From the experts at Working Mother magazine, Working Mom Survival Guide answers your most basic and trickiest questions: Are you addicted to your BlackBerry? How do you get your toddler, or your co-workers, to listen? How do you get on or off a mommy track? Access quickly the information every working mom needs to know—from how to keep tabs on your teen’s online time to how to ask for a flexible schedule—and get back to your busy day, better prepared and more confident. With humor and practicality, Working Mom Survival Guide collects the wisdom and experience of working moms who have been there, too, giving you a head start when you need it most. Subscription to Working Mother magazine included with purchase (details inside book). “As a busy professional and mom of three kids, I know it’s not possible to achieve total balance, but the Working Mom Survival Guide definitely makes juggling all these roles more manageable. This book is rich with practical advice on how to organize and prioritize and make life’s difficult decisions, so you can be your best self in the boardroom and in the playroom!” -Joy Bauer MS, RD, Today show nutritionist and The New York Times bestselling author “Three cheers for the Working Mom Survival Guide! One cheer for its common sense approach, one cheer for its thoroughness, and one big cheer for its sense of humor. Working moms need backup, and this book provides “been there, done that” advice that really resonates for everyday issues. The authors, Suzanne Riss and Teresa Palagano, write with authority and empathy for the millions of us trying to manage a career, kids, and the occasional ill-advised e-mail rant! This is a must-read for moms trying to raise independent, well-adjusted children in a crazy-busy world.” -Lian Dolan Parenting expert at oprah.com; creator of The Chaos Chronicles magazine column, podcast, and blog; and mom to Brookes, 16, and Colin, 13. “All moms have eighteen things to do at once. Make room for nineteen: reading this clever, cheerful, empathetic guide to streamlining your priorities as a working parent.” -Aline Brosh McKenna Screenwriter (The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, and Morning Glory) and mom to Charlie, 11 and Leo, 8. “A terrific resource for working moms who, like me, welcome fresh, realistic advice on juggling kids and career.” -Kristi Yamaguchi Figure skater, Olympic Gold Medal winner, author, and mom to Keara, 7, and Emma, 5.
When Emma Johnson's marriage ended she found herself broke, pregnant, and alone with a toddler. Searching for the advice she needed to navigate her new life as a single professional woman and parent, she discovered there was very little sage wisdom available. In response, Johnson launched the popular blog Wealthysinglemommy.com to speak to other women who, like herself, wanted to not just survive but thrive as single moms. Now, in this complete guide to single motherhood, Johnson guides women in confronting the naysayers in their lives (and in their own minds) to build a thriving career, achieve financial security, and to reignite their romantic life—all while being a kickass parent to their kids. The Kickass Single Mom shows readers how to: • Build a new life that is entirely on their own terms. • Find the time to devote to health, hobbies, friendships, faith, community and travel. • Be a joyful, present and fun mom, and proud role model to your kids. Full of practical advice and inspiration from Emma's life, as well as other successful single moms, this is a must-have resource for any single mom.
Raising a child alone whether you are a father or mother can be the most trying experience in anyone s life. Learning to handle all the many duties that two people would normally deal with and adjusting to the overwhelming demands of a child on a daily basis is a trying experience. Yet, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2006 that over 12.9 million single parents raise their children alone. While a small percentage of that was single fathers (2.5 million), the hard reality of raising a child alone remains the same for either parent. Through hours of meticulous research and interviews, this book was compiled to show exactly how a single father can raise a child alone to be happy and healthy without the help of a second parent. You will learn, as a single father, how to reassure your children and maintain the feeling of a family. You will learn how to help them feel better regardless of whether you are a single father through death or divorce. You will learn how to treat your children and how to communicate with them. The basics of discipline and rules will be outlined for a single-parent household, along with tips on how you can have fun with your children the right and healthy way. You will learn the differences between having daughters versus sons as a father, and how to handle the myriad issues that the mother would normally handle. Dozens of hours of interviews with experts in child psychology and child raising were conducted, and have been included in this book to provide a complete outline of what you can expect throughout raising your children. You will learn how to turn your house into a home, divvying up space, having pets, and how to handle chores. You will learn how to find reliable child care and how to juggle your time among your work, your children, and yourself. You will learn how to deal with school and ensure that your children get the attention they need to succeed. The basics of cooking and health care for children and how to handle their emotional issues as they grow older will all be outlined for you. For every father alone for the first time or unsure of how to raise a child alone, this book will provide the detailed instruction you need to be the best possible single father.
No matter how you became a single mom, you share the same challenges and fears all single moms have. You may feel stretched to the limit. You may suspect your children need more than you're able to give. How are you going to do this on your own? With humor, Scripture, and sage advice, Pam Farrel (child of a single mother) and PeggySue Wells (single parent of 7 children) show you how to - be decisive - create a nurturing home - be proactive - date wisely - pray for your child - embrace your happily-ever-after - and more You are capable of parenting your children with courage, confidence, and clarity. This loving, practical guide shows you how.
You’re a smart guy. You read The Perfect Storm and now you find yourself living it. Your daughter, who yesterday was happy to hang out with you at Home Depot, now cries for no known reason. Last week you were her soccer coach and ‘the best dad there ever was, really,’ and today on the way home from practice she turned away and stared sadly out the window and wouldn’t say a word to you. She’s hovering around adolescence and all of a sudden you’re flopping on the daddy-deck in a panic. What the heck is about to happen and how are you going to get through this? How can you help her get through these difficult years when honestly, you don’t totally understand it yourself? If you’re a single dad, it can get all the more complicated. You might not know who or where to go to for the real deal, the inside scoop. When did her body start to change? Where the heck do you buy a training bra, and when? Do you have to take her or can you pay someone else to do it? What about dating? Or the girl clique thing you’ve heard about. Can’t you just ignore it and raise her just like you would a son, just like you were raised? This book is for any man raising a tween or teen daughter, but particularly the single man who does or doesn’t have full-time custody. This is the definitive guide to helping dad and daughter get past ‘survive’ and onto ‘thrive.’ Written for any man raising daughters, the authors geared this book for the single dad who may not have a woman in his life with whom to confer about issues their daughters may be facing like sex, friendships, boyfriends, alcohol and drugs, and personal hygiene. This book covers it all, from what to keep stocked in the bathroom to how to talk about sex without being blown off. The authors help dads gain a better sense of what their daughters are going through, how their bodies are changing, how their relationships are changing, and how best to handle the ups and downs of these challenging years.
Get the baby gates, lock the cupboards, and load up Elmo's Song, toddlers are on the loose. The Toddler Survival Guide is here to get you to the other side. Toddlers and zombies both communicate mainly through groans, clumsily trail after you everywhere you go (especially into the bathroom in the toddler's case), and--upon entering your life--leave you frazzled, on edge, and deeply sleep deprived.The Toddler Survival Guide is a hilarious parody of Max Brooks's The Zombie Survival Guide (and survival guides in general) that will leave parents laughing out loud even as it provides practical advice on how they can make it to the other side of toddlerhood intact. Written by parents who have studied toddlers up-close in their natural habitat, the book will cover survival skills including how you can outfit your home to outlast a toddler occupation (baby gate, cabinet locks, wine), how you can subdue an angry toddler ("Elmo's Song," mac and cheese, smartphone) and even how you can safely venture out in public together without your toddler--or you--bursting into tears.Chapters include: Preparing the Home for a Toddler Invasion, Communicating with Your Toddler, Feeding a Toddler, Socializing Your Toddler, Grooming Your Toddler, Venturing into Public with a Toddler, Documenting Your Life with a Toddler, Vacationing with a Toddler, Toddler Entertainment and Birthdays, Surviving Bedtime and Potty Training, Technology and the Toddler, and Parental Self-Preservation.
If you or someone you love grew up with an emotionally unavailable, narcissistic, or selfish parent, you probably struggle with residual feelings of anger, abandonment, loneliness, or shame. For anyone who endured a nightmare or a wasteland instead of a nurturing childhood, The Toxic Parents Survival Guide will offer you the clinical insights and the day-to-day tools so you can break the chains of toxicity that bind you in a mess you didn't create. Psychologist Bryn Collins pulls back the layers to explore the very complicated relationship with an emotionally unavailable parent. Whether they were unavailable because of addiction, mental illness, or being overly controlling or an iceberg, this imminently practical book will help validate your frustration and emotional struggles, help you set clear boundaries, and learn how to un-mesh yourself and move forward to a place of strength and peace without any guilt. Using case studies, quizzes, and jargon-free concepts, Collins profiles the most common types of toxic parents and offers the tactics and tools you need to change and break free of these painful associations. Your wounds can be healed and you can move forward. The Toxic Parents Survival Guide will help you find different ways of dealing with your parents' painful legacy so that you don't suffer and don't pass along emotional unavailability to the next generation or your current relationships.
TV presenter, bestselling author and psychologist Nigel Latta gives common-sense and amusing answers to the complex issues surrounding today's family in its many and varied forms. Utilising both the best current research about stepfamilies and over two decades of clinical experience, Nigel traverses the dilemmas and questions that modern family life presents. The shape of the modern family has changed hugely in the last twenty years. Once upon a time mum, dad, and a three or four kids used to be the norm, but that type of family is almost an anomaly now. Stepfamilies, separated families, single parents, grandparents raising their children’s children, bitter family court battles, and complicated access arrangements . . . it’s a new world full of complicated family arrangements and conundrums. The Modern Family Survival Guide covers many key topics such as separation and divorce; surviving family court; sharing custody; co-parenting when your ex is difficult; step parenting; adoption issues; parenting the ‘only child’; gay and lesbian parents; grandparents raising grandchildren, and much more.
