Please pass me that parenting book; I need to smack my forehead with it! Life’s most teachable moments…why do they happen when the prim and proper lady that you have always admired from a distance is standing two feet away? Why do they happen when someone stops by your house, and you need a front-loader to scoop a path to the door because you have been sick for a week? Why do they happen when your toddler decides to speak his first full sentence in a public bathroom loudly commenting on the sounds from the next stall? It has been stated, “Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” It takes your breath away when your son randomly decides to scream “BOO” in a store at a total stranger, causing them to drop their parcels. It is hard to breathe when your child vomits on the bald man’s head in front of you on an airplane. Here are some amazingly breath-taking moments that have made my life laughably enjoyable (although often embarrassing.) May they bring enjoyment to your life, as they have to mine.
A guide that helps parents focus on their children's unique strengths and inclinations rather than on gendered stereotypes to more effectively bring out the best in their individual children, for parents of infants to middle schoolers. Reliance on Gendered Stereotypes Negatively Impacts Kids Studies on gender and child development show that, on average, parents talk less to baby boys and are less likely to use numbers when speaking to little girls. Without meaning to, we constantly color-code children, segregating them by gender based on their presumed interests. Our social dependence on these norms has far-reaching effects, such as leading girls to dislike math or increasing aggression in boys. In this practical guide, developmental psychologist (and mother of two) Christia Spears Brown uses science-based research to show how over-dependence on gender can limit kids, making it harder for them to develop into unique individuals. With a humorous, fresh, and accessible perspective, Parenting Beyond Pink & Blueaddresses all the issues that contemporary parents should consider—from gender-segregated birthday parties and schools to sports, sexualization, and emotional intelligence. This guide empowers parents to help kids break out of pink and blue boxes to become their authentic selves.
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.
New York Times best seller Ever since Gabrielle Stanley Blair became a parent, she’s believed that a thoughtfully designed home is one of the greatest gifts we can give our families, and that the objects and decor we choose to surround ourselves with tell our family’s story. In this, her first book, Blair offers a room-by-room guide to keeping things sane, organized, creative, and stylish. She provides advice on getting the most out of even the smallest spaces; simple fixes that make it easy for little ones to help out around the house; ingenious storage solutions for the never-ending stream of kid stuff; rainy-day DIY projects; and much, much more.
This guidebook, packed with wisdom, practical advice, resources, and encouragement, explores how moms can equip their sons with what they most need to succeed in life. Monica Swanson knew she'd tapped a heartfelt concern when nearly two million readers shared her blog post "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most from His Mom." In this helpful book, she takes mothers deeper into the insights they need for the boy-raising journey, covering topics from dealing with the daily influences of friends and technology to helping a boy grow to be physically, spiritually, and emotionally healthy. She also addresses learning and finding passions, perspectives on relationships and dating, and work ethics and money management. Each chapter features relatable stories, handy checklists, and practical advice based on a combination of research, experience, and biblical truth to guide and equip a mom in helping her son achieve his God-given potential. Praise for Boy Mom “In Boy Mom Monica Swanson offers readers practical advice and resounding hope that parenting our sons well through all seasons is not only possible but also enjoyable. This book is like an essential trail guide that I’ll refer to again and again in the beautiful and challenging adventure of motherhood.”—Becky Keife, author of No Better Mom for the Job and mom of three spirited boys “Monica Swanson is the friend we all need in our lives: humble, straightforward, warm, full of wisdom, and short on nonsense—and she knows her stuff like no one else. In Boy Mom she holds the bar high yet is forthcoming about her own struggles and imperfections. Inside these pages you’ll find deeply rooted biblical and practical advice along with calls to action when you don’t know where to start. The Boy Mom Manifesto at the end will not only inspire you but also make your heart swell.”—Kate Merrick, author of Here, Now: Unearthing Peace and Presence in an Overconnected World “Monica Swanson is the ultimate Boy Mom mentor. While her perspective on parenting is grounded in biblical wisdom, each chapter holds excellent practical tools for how to work out that wisdom on a daily basis in our homes. Of course, we know there aren’t formulas that will ensure we get it all right, but we also know that gleaning wisdom from women who have gone before us (and are still in the trenches with us) is invaluable in the wonderful adventure of helping boys become all God created them to be.”—Jeannie Cunnion, author of Mom Set Free
For a decade, Amy Dickinson has been the Chicago Tribune's signature general advice columnist, helping readers with questions both personal and pressing. Ask Amy: Advice for Better Living is a collection of over 200 question-and-answer columns taken from 2011–2013. As the highly popular successor to the legendary Ann Landers, Dickinson answers readers' questions with care and attention, while also providing a plainspoken, straight-shooting dose of reality that often only comes to us from close friends. Dickinson's advice is rooted in honesty and trust, which is why so many readers turn to her for advice on their everyday lives and for maintaining healthy, lasting relationships. Ask Amy: Advice for Better Living is a testament to the empathetic counsel and practical common-sense tips that Dickinson has been distilling for years.
Though one in four pregnancies ends in loss, miscarriage is shrouded in such secrecy and stigma that the woman who experiences it often feels deeply isolated, unsure how to process her grief. Her body seems to have betrayed her. Her confidence in the goodness of God is rattled. Her loved ones don't know what to say. Her heart is broken. She may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, depressed, confused, or alone. With vulnerability and tenderness, Adriel Booker shares her own experience of three consecutive miscarriages, as well as the stories of others. She tackles complex questions about faith and suffering with sensitivity and clarity, inviting women to a place of grace, honesty, and hope in the redemptive purposes of God without offering religious clichés and pat answers. She also shares specific, practical resources, such as ways to help guide children through grief, suggestions for memorializing your baby, and advice on pregnancy after loss, as well as a special section for dads and loved ones.
To fifty thousand readers, Catherine Newman is the beloved author of “Bringing Up Ben & Birdy,” a weekly column on babycenter.com. Now in the delightfully candid, outlandishly funny Waiting for Birdy, Newman charts the year she anticipated the birth of her second child while also coping with the realities of raising a toddler. As she navigates life with her existentially curious and heartbreakingly sweet three-year-old, and her doozy of a pregnancy, she lends her irresistibly unique voice to the secret thoughts and fears of parents everywhere. Filled with quirky warmth and razor-sharp wit, Waiting for Birdy captures the universal wonder, terror, humor, and tenderness of raising a family. On the web: http://www.babycenter.com, http://www.parentcenter.com
Press “send” for amazing results! With 52 E-mails to Transform Your Marriage, you’ll find a year’s worth of e-mails to help you reconnect with your spouse, reignite intimacy, and keep your love alive. There’s no doubt marriage can be a challenge—we’ve all heard that half of marriages end in divorce. A common problem you may face as a couple is feeling stuck or disconnected—lonely within the marriage—as if you and your spouse were worlds apart, even as you present a united front. Attempts to discuss the problem may lead to painful arguments, and even couples therapy may prove more expensive and time-consuming than effective, putting each of you on the spot and moving so quickly that you may leave, session after session, without feeling closer. E-mail, however, can be a much less threatening way to communicate your true thoughts and feelings. Based on the author’s popular online relationship coaching sessions, each chapter of this book provides an e-mail writing assignment focused on a different topic, such as sex, intimacy, communication, trust, and the future. These weekly assignments will grant you both the time to write—which can be extremely therapeutic in itself—and read what the other has to say without the need for an immediate response. With 52 E-mails to Transform Your Marriage, you’ll discover useful tips for good communication, learn how to respond to messages with empathy and validation, and be well on your way to rediscovering and sustaining the love that brought you together in the first place.
