Product Description
Recent empirical work has shown that adopted children are more vulnerable to a host of psychological and school-related problems compared to their non-adopted peers. The rate of referral of adopted children to mental-health facilities is far above what would be expected given their representation in the general population. However, our understanding of the basis of these problems remains unclear.In this work, David Brodzinsky, who has conducted one of the largest studies of adopted children, along with Marshall Schechter, a child psychiatrist, has brought together a group of leading researchers from various disciplines to explore the complex, interdisciplinary subject of adoption. Theoretical, empirical, clinical, and social policy issues offer new insights into the problems facing parents of adopted children and especially the children themselves. The book is a comprehensive study and will be of interest to child psychiatrists, developmental and clinical psychologists, social workers, and social service providers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Facts and The Feelings
We are surrounded by books written about adoption issues from each participant's perspective - the adoptee, the birth parents, the adoptive parents, and even agency workers and counselors. Those written by the"adoption triad" are generally highly emotionally charged. In ThePsychology of Adoption, David Brodzinsky and Marshall Schechter havecovered a broad range of adoption issues, but have approached themclinically. This is excellent source material for those who are interestedin studies that investigate the problems and complications experienced byadoptive parents, adopted children, and birthparents. Brodzinsky andSchechter present and compare results of numerous clinical studies that arethe foundation for their professional opinions on, and recommendedapproaches to improved emotional, psychological and mental health forfamilies involved in adoption. Some of the documentation is difficult towade through at times, but I was pleased to discover genuine compassion intheir treatment of the subject. These men struck me as being caringprofessionals who are striving to improve a flawed adoption system that isnot producing healthy, satisfied participants. They address the complexproblems inherent in adoption, and offer options and solutions that,although perhaps not popular or commonly well-known or readily available,have been found to be healing and helpful to troubled families. Possiblymore important, they advocate changes to the adoption system that might bepreventive medicine for families who are statistically "destined"to have a less than successful adoption experience. I would recommend thisbook to those who appreciate an educated, clinical perspective that isrefreshingly balanced with deeply felt and caring commentary on theadoption experience. ... Read more

Product Description
This much-awaited companion to the award-winning Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children reveals how daily child-parent social interactions govern children's language and social development.

Based on unparalled data from 2-1/2 years of observing the everyday interactions of 1- and 2-year-old children learning to talk in their own homes, Hart and Risley have charted the month-by-month growth of the children's vocabulary, utterances, and use of grammatical structures. The compelling narrative highlights reliability-tested research findings and is supplemented with numerous transcripts from observations and a list of 2,000 words of children's expressive vocabulary from 19-36 months of age.

This book is must-reading for professionals in speech and language, child development, psychology, and education who need to understand how children come to talk as much and as well as their parents and caregivers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book!
This was a great book. It is based on research done by Hart and Risley on how children learn to talk.It was required for an Early Childhood Graduate Course.I purchased it here on Amazon at a very reasonable offer.The service was impeccable and it was shipped right away.Great overall! I'm glad I purchased the book.

Expanding on Meaningful Differences
I prefer not to spoil it for you, but Hart and Risley continue what they started by delving more deeply in langauge differences between SES homes by investigating the cultural differences in familial routines and how they construct meaning in those contexts.

In the end, they strengthen even further the asking of two key questions: Do low SES families hamper their children's ability to succeed because of the lack of meaningful conversation in the home? Is early childhood education deliberately structured to meet the needs of a child socialized in a context that promotes one meaning of what literacy and communication is?

Essential reading
This is essential reading for any one interested in why children perform so differently in literacy. Seminal work ... Read more

Product Description
The classic guide to understanding children’s mental development is now updated and better than ever!

Hailed by parents and educators, Your Child’s Growing Mind is a window into the fascinating process of brain development and learning. It looks at the roots of emotion,intelligence, and creativity, translating the most current scientific research into practical suggestions for parents and teachers.

Dr. Healy also addresses academic learning, offering countless suggestions for how parents can help without pushing.She explains the building blocks of reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics and shows how to help youngsters of all ages develop motivation, attention, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Using the science of childhood development, she also examines today’s hot issues, including learning disabilities, ADHD,influences of electronic media, and the hazards of forced early learning.From infancy to adolescence, this is the perfect guide to helping and enjoying a youngster’s mental, personal, and academic growth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A Must read for any parent
a very insightful book on kids overall development(not just mind development) with extremely helpful hints on the 'right' activities for kids of different ages. It has definitely made me a better parent.

This book has good information
I ordered this book primarily because I was looking for information on the best way to assess and encourage brain development in my infant. It has a lot of good information on things like what kind of activity, interaction and play is helpful for brain development and what is not. It also has good information about benchmarks of development for different ages/stages. This is a great reference for parents who really want to understand their child's brain development and create a brain-rich environment.

YOUR PARENTAL DUTY
After reading a number of neuroscientific based books, I rounded out my self-directed exploration of the brain with this masterpiece by Jane Healy, Ph.D. It simply is simply the ultimate guide for understanding how the minds of children - from infants to teenagers - grow, change, and develop.

Yes, it has the neuroscientific jargon that you would expect from any credible book that endeavors to explain the complexities of the brain and it's neural functions and networks, but what you don't expect is for it to be so abundant with sound advice (backed by research of course) about how to logically, and lovingly raise children to maximize their intellectual capacities, and reach their full potential in ways that are best for them; all in accordance to their individual rate of growth.

Reading this book will enable you to look into the mind of your child (or children) and identify, and understand their thought process. Her take-away message is clear: pay attention to your child, follow their lead, and gently guide them with interactivity, play, and lot's of love. This book should be required reading for all parents, and parents-to be.

I'm glad I read this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book.I read it the month before my first child was born.It is full of suggestions on how to approach educating your child.It's mostly what should be common sense, but mostly, it says be loving and attentive, and nature will take it's course.You can't force your child to be intelligent, but intelligent child need to be nurtured with love and attention to blossom.If you keep your child warm and safe and let them be children, that's all they need to develop.

A great find
This is a fantastic book!!! It has opened my mind to the black hole of a child's mind.I would definitely recommend it all parents trying to understand their toddlers.The book is written in such easy to read language that I couldn't put the book down after I started reading it.Many useful tips are also provided and I've learnt a great deal from it. ... Read more

Product Description
The increasing focus on children's welfare has given rise to tremendous growth in the field of child psychology, and the past decade has witnessed significant advances in research in this area. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Thank you
As one of the authors of a chapter in this book, I am humbled by the reviews I have read. Now I am going to spend my money to get a copy, lol!

Highly recommended for pediatric clinical workers.
I am writing about the 3rd edition, which is the most current volume.The only disappointment that I have about this text is that I did not obtain it much earlier.The chapters are well written with many references for further study.The practitioner can keep abreast of the current literature on topics that s/he may already be familiar, or obtain authoritive information about other clinical areas not part of one's regular practice.This text is not written in the style of a dictionary, that is, the reader is given a summary in the style and length of a journal article.The book compliments the older volumes of the American Handbook of Psychiatry for which I have still found much use.

I also give strong recommendation for the Social Worker's Desk Reference that is available on Amazon.This latter book is a 2002 text that for some disorders gives a better summary than the Handbook.The Desk Reference is of value regardless of one's clinical license.

Is it worth it?
The strength of the book is that it summarizes the main issues on assessment and treatment quite well. Certainly worthwhile for a quick reference to current opinion on topics but if you're after the finer detail of theory this may not be your book and you might want to try "Child Psychopathology" by Mash & Barkley. The question to ask is, is this book worth $170USD new? If you don't mind spending this money then the book is a useful addition to a professional library for advanced students and professionals.

Handbook of clinical child psychology
This is indeed the "Bible" for the clinical child psychologist. As a pediatrician, who through all my professional life have worked closely with child psychologists, permit me to review this very serious and professional handbook. It is edited by C Eugene Walker from Oklahoma and Michael C Roberts from Kansas with 114 contributors (all from United States). The first edition of the handbook was published 18 years ago and it has since turned into a reference and guide for students, adademics and clinicians in the field. The book is divided into seven sections with a total of 55 chapters. The first section deals with child development and the first chapter with families and children in history with a focus on American history, but I especially liked the chapter by Judith A Chafel and Kathryn Gold Hadley on poverty and well-being of children and their families. This is a new addition to this edition, but a very important one. Poverty and hunger are old phenomena, but only recently become a subject of research and interest to politicians. They should be interested, because poverty is a major public health problem in many developed countries. Data from 1996 in the United States estimate that 20.5% of the children were living in poverty. This well researched paper will give you information on definition of poverty, effects on development, health and psychosocial risks, resiliency and implications for clinical intervention. Section two provides different diagnostic assessments of children and adolescents, section three deals with problems of early life and clinical problems of birth, neonatology, infant and preschool period and section four about problems of childhood. This last section has 16 chapters with some interesting entries. I especially liked the chapter on mental retardation, which takes into account the 1992 American Association on Mental Retardation (AMMR) definition of mental retardation, where not only IQ, but multidimential classification was used as a novel way to look upon mental retardation. I would have liked an entry on the use of the word "mental retardation", which is very much debated (sometimes very hotly like at the last international conference in Seattle in August 2000) and at all not in use in many parts of the world, where instead the term "intellectual disability" is preferred. Section five has nine relevant chapters on adolescence, but I would like to see a chapter on teenage pregnancy in the next edition, because that is especially a problem in United States and United Kingdom, where we are talking about potential psychological risks for the next generation also. Section six conveys intervention strategies with good chapters on hospitalization and pharmacotherapy among others. The last section has special topics like cultural issues, divorce, grief, ethics and forensic evaluation. The chapter on impact of a parent chronic illness is very interesting and I would also suggest a chapter on chronic illness or disability in the child for the next edition. This topic is mentioned in another chapter (on contemporary issues), but deserves a full chapter. The words disability and intellectual disability are not mentioned even in the index. In this section I especially like the chapter on child maltreatment by Barbara L Bonner and collegues, which is a good review of the field of child abuse and neglect, but again the focus in on the United States and international work in the field not mentioned. A chapter on research in child psychology and the use of internet should be added for the next edition. The effects of the internet on children and adolescents should also be added. We recently had a case here in Israel, where an internet connection between two adolescents (a Jewish male and Arab female) were used by terrorists to capture and murder the 14 year old boy. I would have liked to see a section eight with chapters on the future of infancy, childhood and adolescence both in the United States, but also a chapter on international work and research in the field of child psychology. All in all a very positive review for a very useful handbook that can be used by both psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and physicians and thanks for a good editing job. It was a pleasure to read and use this handbook.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD, DMSc Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: jmerrick@aquanet.co.il

An Important Text on Clinical Child Psychology
Although this text could use a new edition, it remains one of the more complete collections of reviews of literature in the clinical dhild psychology. The Handbook of Clinical Child Psychology stands as thestandard reference guide for practitioners, students, professors, andresearchers in the field, and likely will until it is replaced with a thirdedition. ... Read more

Product Description

MySearchLab provides students with a complete understanding of the research process so they can complete research projects confidently and efficiently. Students and instructors with an internet connection can visit www.MySearchLab.com and receive immediate access to thousands of full articles from the EBSCO ContentSelect database. In addition, MySearchLab offers extensive content on the research process itself–including tips on how to navigate and maximize time in the campus library, a step-by-step guide on writing a research paper, and instructions on how to finish an academic assignment with endnotes and bibliography.

This comprehensive, research-based introduction to childhood behavior disorders provides a sensitive and thorough examination of the field by covering its central issues, theories, and research methods, and providing descriptions and discussions of numerous disorders. Rich with illustrations and examples, it highlights the newest areas of research and clinical work, stressing supported treatments and the prevention of behavior problems. Sensitive to gender, cultural/race issues, and social influences, the newest edition of Behavior Disorders of Childhood continues to be the model book in the field. Topics include influences and risks in the developmental process, classification, assessment, and treatment, anxiety disorders, mood and conduct disorders, learning and language disorders, mental retardation, autism, and schizophrenia.   An excellent reference resource for anyone employed in the field of child psychology, child psychopathology, or teachers of special education, child counselors, and those in social work.

Customer Reviews (2)

Book purchase
I got the book very quickly and for a great price...better than my school's bookstore

Foundation of Field
Behavior Disorders of Childhood is an absolute must read for students in the field of child clinical psychology, school psychology, and child psychiatry. The content in this book will provide a foundation on which future learnings can be placed.It is very well written and full of details about the field of developmental psychopathology, causal factors, and particular childhood disorders.With so many claims in the pop literature, this book is a wonderful resource to help others understand what is true and what is not so true.I also recommend this book to parents who have an intense need to know the research in the field.Steve Curtis, Ph.D., author, Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges ... Read more

Product Description
This award-winning book presents a realistic picture of therapy's rewards and challenges through sixteen actual cases involving children and adolescents. Readers are exposed to a variety of counseling theories and the real, live counselors who use them.The cases deal with major problem areas such as sexual abuse, dual diagnoses, seriously dysfunctional families, and addictions. A five-part organization of each case covers: an introduction that discusses the presenting problem and background information about the client; conceptualization of therapeutic goals and strategies; process descriptions of actual client contacts (it explains what happened in sessions and how the therapist's relationship with the client changed over time); outcome sections describing the result of the work done between therapist and client; and discussion explanations of what the author/therapist might have done differently. In addition, the author describes his or her personal and professional growth that resulted from this encounter with a troubled youngster.For child and adolescent counselors beginning their journey as therapists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Only buy if required reading
I wouldn't have purchased this book if it wasn't required for a child/adolescent therapy class...not really worth the money. There are better books with case studies out there, such as "The Playing Cure" by Kaudson. ... Read more

Product Description
Children whose early development has been damaged by abuse or neglect are notoriously difficult to reach. Through many years' therapeutic work with adopted children and their families, Denise B. Lacher and Todd Nichols have developed an exciting and innovative technique which uses stories as the main mode for helping parents to communicate and connect with their troubled children. Connecting with Kids through Stories is an accessible guide to Family Attachment Narrative Therapy for the parents of adopted or fostered children, and for the professionals who work with them. Providing a thorough theoretical grounding, and detailed information on therapeutic techniques and how to assess progress, the book shows parents how to create their own therapeutic stories to promote increased attachment and improved behaviour in their child. The authors describe how different kinds of narratives can help with specific difficulties and illustrate their techniques with the story of a fictional family who develop their own narratives to help their adopted child heal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Must-Read for Adoptive Parents who Face Attachment Issues
This book truly changed my life.It was amazing!

As an adoptive mom who struggles to connect with a daughter who was institutionalized for most of her first year of life (and thus struggles to attach), this book provided a new look at a problem I've been trying to grapple with for years.This amazing, fresh approach to viewing attachment issues was extremely helpful.

The authors show us how to connect with our adopted children by telling them stories that help us "claim" them as part of our family, help them heal from specific trauma, help them get past developmental roadblocks, and help them understand what it means to be "successful" and make good decisions.

It's a short book that's easy to read, and written for parents (rather than tharapists).At first the approach of storytelling seems way too simple for such a complex problem.But I can personally attest that following their suggestions has made significant differences for my family.

When you struggle to connect with a child, telling them a story gives you a much easier way to connect than to lecture, demand, coerce, etc.And for those of us who struggle to connect on an emotional level, storytelling helps you do just that with your child.

I wish I had read this book years ago.If your child has attachment issues and you struggle to connect, I highly suggest reading this book.

Attachment Therapy
This has helped our family tremendously. It is the most effective and non retraumatizing technique we have found for using with our attachment disordered children. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is full of the techniques that we have used successfully over the years. Many we have adapted to suit their needs and many we have made up ourselves. What we have become particularly good at is not giving up!A mother of two adopted children, Celia Foster has written "Big Steps for Little People" as a personal 'insider's guide' to parenting adopted children.Drawing on the hard-won wisdom gained in her own family life, Celia offers a thoughtful account of life with adopted children and examines the issues that many adoptive families encounter, including the development of children with attachment problems and how to tackle behavioural difficulties. She combines real-life anecdotes with suggestions and strategies that other parents can put to use.This book will be a great comfort and help to all adoptive families and offers insights for the professionals who work with them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I loved this book
I really enjoyed this book because I have done so much reading on adoption and the problems that can arise. This family adopted and kept on going. They experienced so many different adventures, so many different ways to adopt/foster children. Sometimes enough is not enough and we realize that more is not too much. It's a great read. ... Read more

Product Description
A world-renowned child psychiatrist takes us inside his pioneering work with trauma victims to offer a groundbreaking new perspective on how stress and violence affect children's brains--and how they can be helped to heal.

Child psychiatrist Bruce Perry has treated children faced with unimaginable horror: genocide survivors, witnesses, children raised in closets and cages, and victims of family violence. Here he tells their stories of trauma and transformation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog
This book gave an amazing insight into the life of traumatized children. To understand that a childs behaviour is more than their free will to misbehave, but due the malfunctioning of the brain that has been starved of love and physical affection in infancy. To understand that love conquers all. A child that has missed the most fundamental nurturing inutro and infancy needs to have that hugging and rocking to help stimulate what has been missed. This is a must read for anyone who works with children and anyone who is wanting to have children.

Very helpful
Dr. Perry is the premier child traumatology expert and this book is
very helpful for anyone interested in trauma and its long term effects on
children and adolescents.His thoughts about his training in child psychiatry are fascinating.

Anyone still believing all children are resilient after significant trauma will
feel differently after reading Dr. Perry's book.

Charles W. Maas, MD

sad but inspiring book
Such a great book. Perry breaks down neurobiology into concepts normal people can understand. This is a well written book that is also educational & inspiring! Book contains stories/cases of children who experienced severe abuse or neglect, and ways parents & caretakers can provide what children in similar situations may need. Had to read it for a class, but really enjoyed it & bought Perry's other books after. Great buy for those in counseling field as I am, (or for parents looking for tips to avoid damaging their children I suppose).

A must for anyoneworking with emotionallychallenging youth.
After teaching for 22 years, this was a book that helped me look at students I have had with a deeper understanding and empathy. In education there is so much that we don't know about the students we serve. This book shed light on our continued need to be compassionate and deepen our own understanding.

Re-think behaviors
Excellent read for anyone working to identify and remove behavioral barriers for children.This author relates heartbreaking cases of children with extreme behaviors that they developed in response to chronic abuse/neglect.Dr. Perry is very knowledgeable and realistic, and the writing style is easily accessible.Information will cause the reader to re-think their evaluations of children's behaviors - labels such as "incorrigible", "mentally ill", "willful" or "hopeless" are re-examined as "developmentally damaged due to extreme trauma - exhibiting post-traumatic stress disorder" - Dr. Perry removes traditional labels to discover the nature of the damage, the ways that the featured children manifest or cope with their trauma, develops respectful relationships as the first pillar of treatment, then works a treatment plan to restore the "missing/damaged parts" of the child's development - this book is not a playbook for therapeutic intervention (one size does not fit all), but a call to re-consider responses to the extreme behaviors of troubled children. ... Read more

Product Description

This second edition of Child Psychology reflects the increasingly sophisticated and varied research methods used to examine the highly complex interactions contributing to children's cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Those chapters that appeared in the previous edition have been thoroughly updated and new chapters by outstanding researchers have been introduced. In addition, there is an entirely new section on adolescence and thorough coverage of salient ecological influences, which make this second edition a truly comprehensive resource on the important issues in child psychology.

Product Description
This authoritative four-volume reference spans the entire field of child development and has set the standard against which all other scholarly references are compared. Updated and revised to reflect the new developments in the field, the Sixth Edition is sure to be as successful as the previous editions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Indispensable
Indispensable

As a doctoral student in clinical psych with a focus on children I have found this set to not only be well worth the hefty price tag but to have saved me $ since any and everything (from attachment theory to neuro) that I have needed info on was covered in depth and by the giants in each respective arena.BUY IT if it overlaps with your interests!It will become the first place you look for anything relating to child psych.It is technical and scholarly in detail so it's not for the layperson but for students and psychs alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Understanding Abnormal Child Psychology
This is a great book for learning about normal and abnormal child behaviors. One great advantage is that the book uses as its reference the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, text revision(DSM-IV-TR). The book also presents 'case studies' where you can read each case and understand and to try to identify if it is a one is suffering from a condition or it is consider normal depending with each one's personality, behavior or interests. It is great not only for a classroom but also for anyone wanting to get to understand behaviors that to one may seem abnormal but to others it's just that person's personality, behavior and creativeness that makes every single one of us 'unique'. Great and informative textbook. ... Read more

Product Description
In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel?  Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter?  Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated?  If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie?  What's the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?
  NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.  They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas.  With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.
  Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (154)

IN LOVE with the audio book!
I'm not going to write a long boring review.My husband and I purchased this book on Audible.com and I can say that I haven't listened so closely to the content, nor enjoyed the narration of a book so much.Ever.Every detail is astounding.If you genuinely care about the educational, mental, and emotional growth of your children, you will LOVE this book.Happy listening!

Accurate in many respects
A must-read for any parent who doesn't want the nightmare of paying for a college education with the unwanted excursions into drinking, etc., a by-product of our somewhat bizarre school system.
I recall two of many major experiences with the school system of today:the first was when I received a call from my son's first grade teacher, hesitantly telling me my son was ''inappropriately'' touching other children.My first words were "What do you MEAN, he has never been exposed to inappropriateness" (as I had been by a family relative).The teacher continued to hesitate, searching for words.Finally, she stated ''He's hugging other kids".My first-grader was going up to other classmates and hugging them.He had attended a non-denominational Christian pre-school for four years.Hugging was not considered inappropriate.The teacher had to relate to me how not even teachers were any longer allowed to even place their hand upon a child's shoulder.
The second instance was being informed by my then 2nd-grade son that "Patrick can do anything he wants and he doesn't get in trouble" followed by reports from school that my son was arguing and bullying a child named Patrick.I was asked to report for a special meeting with the teacher.The teacher explained my son's actions and demanded the actions stop.I asked about the other child... we're not in Mayberry anymore,and in some ways that's a good thing:at first she refused to discuss details due to privacy issues.It turned out the other little boy was autistic.He had constant rocking motions and other behaviours that were against class rules.Now, keep in mind, I have a brother with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.He, being older, grew up with rocks being thrown at him in the schoolyard while the school system did nothing to prevent the bullying.Now, here I am (mid-90's) being confronted with this situation.I looked at her and said:how many ''special needs'' children are in this class of 28 children?"There were seven.I asked if the class had had ''special needs'' explained to them.No.I say, ''look, I've got a special-needs brother that went through hell in school, he wasn't protected at all and had to be removed from public school to private school, and now you're telling me my son is reacting this way to Patrick, but my son has no comprehension whatsoever that Patrick has special needs (Down's Syndrome) so my son is coming home angry because "Patrick gets away with everything and breaks all the rules" and now you're telling me that NO EDUCATION WHATSOEVER HAS BEEN GIVEN TO THE CLASS ABOUT SPECIAL NEEDS AND THE NEED TO RESPECT THOSE NEEDS?It's this many years later and the ONLY difference is incorporating special needs into the general classroom WITH NO EDUCATION TO THE OTHER CHILDREN?I was told this was the District Policy.When I explained special needs to my son, he stopped his behavior, he understood WHY Patrick "could get away" with breaking rules and he could not get away with breaking rules.
To me, it was heartbreaking:my special needs brother,much older, was not protected by the school system.
And now here it was so many many years later.And still no effort to incorporate and educate the general school population at a young age that we are all different and the differences need to be respected.
And don't even get me started on Teachers receiving Tenure...
I agree with almost all points the authors make.BTW, I'm a babyboomer and in our time it was Dr. Spock, who took alot of blame for creating the most self-centered me generation known to exist in this Country ... at that point-in-time, anyway.

A Useful and Flawed Update on Notions of Child Rearing
Natureshock, Bronson and Merryman's book about misplaced assumptions in the rearing of children is a worthwhile read for any parent.More a guide for critical thinking about our somewhat whacked out approach to child raising in America (reserving spots in elite preschools before a child is even born) than a guide to raising children, the book presents fresh data, surprising conclusions, and frequent cautions about old assumptions.

Nurtureshock joins a new mini-genre of literature that sells by turning old assumptions on their heads, and making us question what we once thought was surely true.Also in this category is Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) and Outliers: The Story of Success.

The book is highly entertaining, and impossible to read without a number of "Ah Hah!" moments, but does have limitations.While presenting powerful evidence that it is best not to dole out generic praise by the boxcar load to children (it actually impairs their performance) the book is at its best.Teachers, by the way, have known this for decades, and good teachers transformed long ago from non-specific cheerleaders (You're doing great!!) to more specific statements ("I like the way you stuck with that math problem until you figured it out").Similarly, teachers have been acquainted for years with another theme of the book: academic skill testing done prior to the third grade correlates very poorly with academic performance down the line.

The authors question many of the programs that have been used to ramp up child performance, such as the Baby Einstein materials, and in doing so demonstrate how little evidence (if any!) provides a foundation for products that hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on.What the authors don't question is the concept of performance enhancement itself.In the area of language development, the authors spend a considerable amount of time describing flawed and ineffective (but expensive)programs to get babies on the fast track to linguistic mastery.They then go on to propose that there are a bunch of NEW ways to stimulate language development, giving only weak evidence that transferring from the old and goofy ways of getting babies to articulate precociously to the new and spiffy ways (based on the inevitable fMRI studies of brain function)has statistically significant long term beneficial results.Though the authors don't discuss it, there is good evidence that one of the simplest of interventions of all, having family dinners together every night with the TV off (only about 20% of American families regularly do this now) has a very measurable effect on fluency AND on reading and writing skills.

Again, the book is a great read, and obviously quite inspiring to many of its readers that have posted five star reviews.It runs the risk, however, of perpetuating the notion that children will end up working at McDonalds for a profession instead of becoming a neurosurgeon if parents don't man the neurobiological/behavioral battle stations from about ten weeks after fertilization of the ovum onward. While the authors shred older concepts of ramped up child rearing, they then jump in with both feet on their chosen NEW concepts of ramped up child rearing.What does a ten thousand foot overview of childhood development strategies say? The best evidence implies that the book you want to read if you want your child to become a highly functioning and happy adult is....To Kill a Mockingbird.Raise your girl like Atticus Finch raised Scout, and your boy the way he raised Jem:have dinner with them every night.Discuss current events.Read to your children at bedtime. Speak clearly about your values (compare Atticus Finch's approach to the problem of racism to the methods suggested in Natureshock). Make them play outside on a regular basis.Make them go to bed on time, after you make them do their homework.Not very glitzy, is it.A bit labor intensive, maybe? But find a mentor teacher, or a great pediatrician, and my bet is they'll place their money on Scout and Jem to succeed best in the long run.

The so-called Greatest Generation, which built the world's most powerful economy, made American Nobel Peace Prizes a matter of routine, and vaulted the U.S. to superpower status, did it without the benefit of scripting every verbal encounter, restructuring a walk in the park to an opportunity to improve vocabulary, and becoming adept at responding to a baby's babbles with a predetermined choreography of behaviors. Our drive to be the best parents that we can be is powerful and admirable.We want to do it right.To date, the most effective way of getting there appears to be setting some rules and sticking to them (the authors do discuss this), regular quality communication, quality AND quantity time spent together, frankness regarding values (e.g. racism)and carefully allowing experiences that are painful or challenging enough to cause growth.Atticus Finch used these techniques, and single parent though he was, gave us Scout and Jem.

Nurture shock
So far the book is pretty interesting. I had to buy it for my psychology class.

Good basic read
This is a great book for parents. It gives practical ideas that are worth reading. If you are sick of parenting books that don't offer any real good advice, check out this book. ... Read more

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This practical guide offers mental health professionals adetailed, step-by-step description on how to conduct Parent-ChildInteraction Therapy (PCIT) -- the empirically validated trainingprogram for parents with children who have disruptive behaviorproblems. Drawn from their own experience in treating hundreds offamilies, the authors include several illustrative examples andvignettes as well as an appendix with several assessment instrumentsto help parents to conduct PCIT. An exclusive feature of this volumeis a thorough discussion on how to teach parents to do behavioral playtherapy and to effectively implement timeout procedures with highlyaggressive preschoolers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Guide for Child Therapists
I am a licensed child psychologist who specializes in parent training for young children with behavior problems. There are many excellent therapist manuals but this one stands out. It offers excellent guidance from initial assessment to treatment implementation to monitoring treatment progress and outcome. The handouts in the appendix are particularly good. Overall, the authors are very effective at integrating the best information that research and practical experience have to offer. ... Read more

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Support for Parents Whose Children are Depressed

Contrary to popular belief, young children do get seriously depressed, and many try to kill themselves. In Helping Your Child Cope with Depression and Suicidal Thoughts the authors, Shamoo and Patros, show parents: how to learn to talk, listen, and communicate effectively with a depressed child; what situations can cause a child or adolescent to wish to commit suicide; what signs to watch for; myths and misinformation about suicide; how to determine the risk of suicide; and How to intervene.

... Read more

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The long-awaited revision of the bestselling and definitive child care manual from the internationally renowned Gesell Institute of Human Behavior.

Child Behavior

The classic child care manual from the
internationally renowned Gesell Institute

Since it was first published, Child Behavior has become classic reading for parents and professionals around the world. This authoritative guide offers the basics of child development, addressing exactly how children's bodies can affect their behavior. The authors not only discuss what to do to treat specific behavior problems but actually advise parents on how, in many instances, they can prevent many common and more serious problems. The authors' practical, accessible advice covers a variety of issues including:

Product Description

Both general and child/adolescent psychiatrists will find the third edition of this book valuable in preparing for their re-certification exams. The last ten years have brought tremendous changes to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. The revision of this book incorporates recent information from AACAP’s Practice Parameters, and review questions and references have also been updated. Hendren has reviewed every question, answer, and explanation to ensure coverage of the major advances in the classification of child and adolescent disorders represented in the DSM-IV.

Customer Reviews (2)

Review for boards
One of the only decent Child and Adolescent reviews available for boards.Written in question/multiple choice format with adequate explanations and references.

actually helped a lot!
I just took the child board exam and this question-and-answer book actually helped a lot.The exam takes three days: half of one for the written exam, a 75 minute preschool/school age oral exam, and a 60 minute live adolescent oral exam.This book helps the most with the written exam.The questions are similar to the type on the real exam.Hendren provides questions in either multiple choice or K-type format, with some matching questions.These are followed by answers and brief explanations.The explanations are usually helpful, but there are some that are confusing or skimpy.I actually got frustrated with a few of them.The material is a little dated (little on atypicals and a lot on tricyclics).But overall you will learn a lot and be in full "question mode" during the exam.There are a couple sections at the end of the book to help prepare for the oral exams.The preschool/school age one is more pertinent, because there is a written vignette on the actual exam.Overall, this book is well worth the investment! ... Read more

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A program for fostering positive relationship-building habits in children to help alleviate and even prevent childhood depression

Raising an Optimistic Child offers you tools for creating a positive, supportive family atmosphere that helps children who are already depressed and can even prevent this crippling disorder. Steps and additional techniques will help you combat your own depression, tackle parental issues, and enhance learning and coping skills. It also alerts you to circumstances that put a child at risk for depression and suggests ways to ward it off.

Customer Reviews (7)

Amazing Read!!!
I would recommend this book to everyone, parent or not!!! This book is great for parents who want to do things right with their children, with their signifacant other, and themselves. It's such a concise yet all-encompassing guide on facing your problems and how they affect your children and spouse.They give great, great suggestions on handling all types of issues. If I could, I would buy a copy for everyone I know and say "READ IT!!! This will make everything SOOO MUCH better for everybody!" I am a parent and I will pass this on to my child. I may sound over-enthusiastic but... I could not be more pleasantly surprised!

Best Parenting book ever
I have read atleat a dozen parenting books .
This one really stands out because it is mostly about why parents react in a particular way - that is how our own childhood experiences control the way we react to ourkids and how to get hold of our legacy parenting .

A must read for every parent who wants the best for their kids.

It is also very HELPFUL in deciding the right age for day care ,preschool and a bible for working moms .

Insightful!
I am not a professional in the field of Psychology.I am a parent that noticed more than a few reflections of sadness in my childs eyes. It occured to me that she may be experiencing depression or just feeling overwhelmed with the preteen issues that faced her.Considering that optimism is so very important, I decided to understand more about optimism, it's beginnings, and how to achieve it more regularly.In reading the book, I now consider how to contribute to an optimistic outcome, rather than expecting that optimism should happen on it's own.
That was a very powerful awakening.

AHighly Recommended Book for Children of ALL Ages !
Finally, an easy to read book that approaches child rearing with love, compassion and humanity in a straight forward and honest manner.Teaches how to be and not to be with every turn of the page.So informative and inspiring is "Raising An Optiministic Child" with it's easy to read format, with it's ample examples and it's encouraging approach.It's not only a guide book for child rearing but a book which inspires, gives hope and guidance and reminds us of how we all need to treat children and each other as well as how we all would like to be treated regardless of AGE!A must have book in every home library and in everyone's reading and learning repertoire.

Latest and Greatest Wisdom
"Raising an Optimistic Child" has captured the latest and greatest of parenting wisdoms, but that's not all.As a child therapist of 3-5 year olds and a daycare provider of toddlers, I am pleased to say that it has affirmed my intuitions and greatly informed my practice, with children and adults alike.

This book has reminded me once again of the paramount importance of our earliest years, and the caretaking relationships that surround them, in predisposing us to mood disorders later in life. It is a thorough compilation of the key ingredients that make for a healthy human, combining the most up-to-date psychological research, together with all-too-undereferenced ancient wisdoms and some refreshing new "ah-hah's."

Dare I say it? I agree wholeheartedly with most, if not all, of the book, including the authors' de-pathologizing of children and their sensitive examination of the sticky subjects of drugs and over-diagnosed ADD/ADHD.

While very easy to read, the excellent guidance may not be so easy to do. At least the best information is nearly all in one place, as is the optimism to "have a go" at it.

I am so glad I read this book. I can't recommend it highly enough - to parents, teachers, childcare providers, therapists, couples, and adults who struggle with depression and/or other psychological challenges or know someone who does. In short, everyone. ... Read more

Product Description
Univ. of Leicester, UK. Text is an introduction to the psychology of human development. Topics include gender development and gender differences, adult life, growing older, developmental stages, cultural variations, early social interactions, measurement of intelligence, and Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development. For students. Softcover, hardcover available. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential for Social Scientists
This is an essential book for any social/psychology student or scientist. It contains a lot of meaningful and insightful information using a no-nonsense language that is exceptionally well understood. This is a highly recommended book for any and all interested in developmental psychology. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A Very Good Clinical Resource
As a child psychologist who works primarily with foster and adopted children and their families, this is a book I turn to as a reference quite often. Clearly, foster and adopted kids are not the only one's who struggle with attachment-related concerns, but much of our understanding about the process stems from research with this population. This book includes the writing from top names in the field and it lays out the theoretical basis for attachment in a clear manner. Parents will probably find the information too dry and clinical, but practitioners should have a copy, especially if they are working with at-risk populations of children and families.

Christopher J. Alexander, Ph.D. (Author, 'Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Foster and Adopted Children; A Guide for Parents and Practitioners,' 2009).

Excellent book tackling attachment issues
As a social worker, this is one of the best Attachment Theory books. I would recommend pairing it with a Child Developmental text, such as Doug Davies work. In conjunction, excellent material with concrete practicalities. ... Read more