According to these pediatric psychologists, the best interest of the child calls for a developmentally appropriate parenting plan-that is, custody that accurately reflects the child's physical and psychological development. Even now this concept often faces courtroom challenges as it can conflict with the traditional lawyer-client relationship. This book explores developing alternate parenting schedules (or custody) with the child's best interest and developmental needs considered first.

A positive, mindful plan for children and parents in transition! If you're facing the challenge of raising children in two homes, you may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how to build a healthy coparenting relationship. With The Conscious Parent's Guide to Coparenting, you'll learn how to take a relationship-centered approach to parenting, foster forgiveness, and find constructive ways to move on when relationships change. Coparenting means putting your child's needs first. And conscious parenting acknowledges a child's thoughts, feelings, and needs, as well as a parent's responsibility to them. This easy-to-use handbook helps you to: Build a coparenting relationship based on mutual respect Lower stress levels for the entire family Communicate openly with children about divorce Discuss and reach parenting decisions together Protect children, meet their needs, and help them build resilience Educate your family and friends about coparenting The concept of ending a marriage peacefully, with compassion and respect for former partners, is often viewed with surprise in modern society. But choosing to consciously coparent is an important choice you can make for yourself and your children--one that will benefit the emotional health of your family for years to come.

Brilliantly guides parents to take a look at their own experiences and to create a parenting plan that is not only unique to their family's needs, but also helps to provide a framework to create and implement their custom parenting strategies. A must read for any parent/caregiver! - Dr. Joanna Lindell, DO Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Parents quite rightly desire deep, long-lasting and loving connections with their children. In this exceptional workbook for all parents, Jacqueline Rhew and Robin Choquette teach parents ways to develop those deeper connections, highlighting strategies to raise resilient, confident and independent young people. The Successful Parenting Workbook is a hands-on guide designed to identify and create opportunities to better understand your current parenting strategies and your children, as well as create an individualized family plan. Inside this workbook, you will find: -Practical tools and tips, inventories, worksheets, assignments and strategies -Real-world example case studies and reflective questions -Step by step instructions on creating an individualized family plan Using this personalized, interactive and reflective parenting workbook, parents are guided to explore personal history, personality, and preferences that combine to create, intentionally and unintentionally, their current parenting strategies. Parents learn to establish goals that foster age-appropriate maturity in their children, identify current ineffective parenting, and create a new workable plan based on their identified family values. The workbook embodies a calm and confident approach which encourages each parent to develop specific strategies aligned with their child's emotional and cognitive development, resulting in more resilient, independent "future adults." Clinicians, consultants and presenters, Jacqueline and Robin are experts in their field, working to inspire children, adolescents and parents. Together, they have over 35 years experience working with professionals and parents. Jacqueline and Robin have conducted over 300 training sessions both locally and nationally on a wide array of topics relating to goal-directed parenting and resilient children. Their approach to purposeful parenting has helped thousands of families. They hope you, like so many of their training session participants, find The Successful Parenting Workbook a useful companion, and a resource you can turn to at any stage of your child's development. For more information, visit www.successfulparentingplan.com

Take coparenting to the next level and provide a stable environment for your children as you and your spouse begin tackling your separation or divorce. For parents who are separating and want to put their children first, birdnesting could be the interim custody solution you’ve been looking for. Instead of the children splitting their time being shuttled between mom and dad’s separate homes, birdnesting allows the children to stay in the “nest” and instead, requires mom and dad to swap, allowing each parent to stay elsewhere when not with the children. Initially popularized by celebrities, this method of coparenting is now becoming more mainstream as a way to help ease children into a new family dynamic. Birdnesting takes work and commitment but with Dr. Ann Gold Buscho’s guidance, you’ll learn everything you need to know about this revolutionary method. In The Parent’s Guide to Birdnesting, you will discover the pros and cons, the financial and interpersonal considerations, and if it’s the right decision for you and your family.

The Parent Plan is the manual that every child should have come with. It answers such questions as “Why am I disciplining this way?” “When should I choose to discipline?” “How do I know . . . ?” The Parent Plan is not a situational parenting book dealing with specific ages, religions, and issues, but is “the big book of parenting,” guiding all parents in all situations. Whether you have teenagers or are hoping to conceive, this book helps to build skills and gain knowledge in becoming a confident parent who raises successful adults. The Parent Plan guides parents through actions of creating a plan to parent their children. This plan helps the parent in discipline, choosing activities, working with the community with regard to their child, and knowing when they are on or off course. Working their plan gives the parent confidence knowing they are making the right decisions for their child.

"From weeknight dinners and homework sessions with their son to Christmas card photos and vacations, Nikki DeBartolo and Benjamin Heldfond have created a tight-knit, enviable family. They work and play well together, from the smallest daily tasks to the biggest life eventsƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"and it only took a divorce to get them there. Though their marriage has been over for nearly a decade, they still share a happy life with each other and their son Asher, along with their new amazing spouses and children. Ben and Nikki had hoped their wedding would start their happily ever afterƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"but seven years, one child, and countless financial and familial entanglements later, their I do-s had turned into We can't-s. Armed with their fierce love for their son and a desire to give him the best, they realized they needed to find an alternative to the seemingly inevitable toxic divorce that loomed over their lives.

An internationally renowned authority on children and divorce reveals the latest research-based strategies for helping children survive and thrive before, during, and long after their parents divorce. The breakup of a family can have an enduring impact on children. But as Dr. JoAnne Pedro-Carroll explains with clarity and compassion in this powerful book, parents can positively alter the immediate and long-term effects of divorce on their children. The key is proven, emotionally intelligent parenting strategies that promote children's emotional health, resilience, and ability to lead satisfying lives. Over the past three decades, Pedro-Carroll has worked with families in transition, conducted research, and developed and directed award- winning, court-endorsed programs that have helped thousands of families navigate divorce and its aftermath. Now she shares practical, research-based advice that helps parents: -gain a deeper understanding of what their children are experiencing -develop emotionally intelligent parenting strategies with the critical combination of boundless love and appropriate limits on behavior -reduce conflict with a former spouse and protect children from conflict's damaging effects -learn what recent brain research reveals about stress and children's developing capabilities Filled with the voices and drawings of children and the stories of families, Putting Children First delivers a positive vision for a future of hope and healing.

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.

In this practical book, two experts provide straightforward co-parenting advice to parents facing separation or divorce who wish to pursue the shared parenting approach. Drawing on their extensive experience and research, the authors emphasize the importance of children having significant time with both parents, allowing them to maintain meaningful relationships. By presenting the benefits and challenges, debunking the myths, giving practical tips on communication between the two households, and providing concrete tools to aid in creating co-parenting plans, this book steers parents past their personal feelings toward a successful resolution that is in everyone’s best interest.

Internationally renowned therapist, family expert and mediator Isolina Ricci, Ph.D. presents this definitive and newly updated guide to divorce and making shared custody work for parents and children. The ground-breaking classic, Mom’s House, Dad’s House, has become the standard for two generations of divorcing parents, and includes examples, self-tests, checklists, tools, and guidelines to help separated moms and dads with the legal, emotional, and financial issues they will encounter as they work to create happy and stable homes. This comprehensive guide looks anew at the needs of all family members with creative options and common-sense advice, including: * The map to a “decent divorce” and two happy homes * Helping children of divorce with age-specific advice * Negotiating Parental Agreements and custody arrangements * Breaking away from “negative intimacy” with a difficult ex-husband or ex-wife * Sidestepping destructive myths about divorce (and marriage) * Handling long-distance parenting and parenting alone With Mom’s House, Dad’s House, parents will learn how to help their children heal and find a sense of continuity, security, and stability throughout the divorce process and in any custody situation.