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.

Family Communication: Cohesion and Change encourages students to think critically about family interaction patterns and to analyze them using a variety of communication theories. Using a framework of family functions, current research, and first-person narratives, this text emphasizes the diversity of today's families in structure, ethnic patterns, gender socialization, and developmental experiences. New for the tenth edition are expanded pedagogical features to improve learning and retention, as well as updates on current theory and research integrated throughout the chapters for timely analysis and discussion. Cases and research featured in each chapter provide examples of concepts and themes, and a companion website offers expanded resources for instructors and students. On the book's companion website, www.routledge.com/cw/galvin, intstructors will find a full suite of online resources to help build their courses and engage their students, as well as an author video introducing the new edition: Course Materials Syllabi & Suggested Calendars Course Projects & Paper Examples Essay Assignments Test/Quiz Questions and Answer Keys Case Studies in Family Communication Family Communication Film and Television Examples Family Communication in Literature Examples Chapter Outlines Detailed Outlines Discussion Questions Case Study Questions Sample Chapter Activities Chapter PowerPoint Slides

For twenty-five years, Positive Discipline has been the gold standard reference for grown-ups working with children. Now Jane Nelsen, distinguished psychologist, educator, and mother of seven, has written a revised and expanded edition. The key to positive discipline is not punishment, she tells us, but mutual respect. Nelsen coaches parents and teachers to be both firm and kind, so that any child–from a three-year-old toddler to a rebellious teenager–can learn creative cooperation and self-discipline with no loss of dignity. Inside you’ll discover how to • bridge communication gaps • defuse power struggles • avoid the dangers of praise • enforce your message of love • build on strengths, not weaknesses • hold children accountable with their self-respect intact • teach children not what to think but how to think • win cooperation at home and at school • meet the special challenge of teen misbehavior “It is not easy to improve a classic book, but Jane Nelson has done so in this revised edition. Packed with updated examples that are clear and specific, Positive Discipline shows parents exactly how to focus on solutions while being kind and firm. If you want to enrich your relationship with your children, this is the book for you.” –Sal Severe, author of How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too! Millions of children have already benefited from the counsel in this wise and warmhearted book, which features dozens of true stories of positive discipline in action. Give your child the tools he or she needs for a well-adjusted life with this proven treasure trove of practical advice.

With a synthesis of research on issues key to understanding family interaction, as well as an analysis of many theoretical and methodological choices made by researchers studying family communication, the Handbook serves to advance the field by reframing old questions and stimulating new ones. The contents are comprised of chapters covering: theoretical and methodological issues influencing current conceptions of family; research and theory centering around the family life course communication occurring in a variety of family forms individual family members and their relationships dynamic communication processes taking place in families family communication embedded in social, cultural, and physical contexts. Key changes to the second edition include: updates throughout, providing a thorough and up-to-date overview of research and theory new topics reflecting the growth of the discipline, including chapters on "singles" as family members, emerging adults, and physiology and physical health. Highlighting the work of scholars across disciplines--communication, social psychology, clinical psychology, sociology, family studies, and others--this volume captures the breadth and depth of research on family communication and family relationships. The well-known contributors approach family interaction from a variety of theoretical perspectives and focus on topics ranging from the influence of structural characteristics on family relationships to the importance of specific communication processes.

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

A Powerful Approach to Bringing God's Grace to Kids Did you know that the way we deal (or don't deal) with our kids' misbehavior shapes their beliefs about themselves, the world, and God? Therefore it's vital to connect with their hearts--not just their minds--amid the daily behavior battles. With warmth and grace, Jim and Lynne Jackson, founders of Connected Families, offer four tried-and-true keys to handling any behavioral issues with love, truth, and authority. You will learn practical ways to communicate messages of grace and truth, how to discipline in a way that motivates your child, and how to keep your relationship strong, not antagonistic. Discipline is more than just a short-term attempt to modify your child's actions--it's a long-term investment to help them build faith, wisdom, and character for life. When you discover a better path to discipline, you'll find a more well-behaved--and well-believed--kid.

Family Communication carefully examines state-of-the-art research and theories of family communication and family relationships. In addition to presenting cutting-edge research, it focuses on classic theories and research findings that have influenced and revolutionized the way scholars conceptualize family interaction. This text offers a thorough and up-to-date presentation of scientific research in family communication for both teachers and students of family communication as well as professionals who work with families. This second edition features: Chapters updated with the latest research, including over 2000 references. Material on understudied family relationships, such as extended family relationships and gay and lesbian relationships Recent research on understudied topics in family communication, including the influence of technology on mate selection, negotiating work and family stress, single parenting, cohabitation, elder abuse, forgiveness in marriage, and the links among communication, culture, and mental health. A revised chapter on parent-child communication, taking a lifespan perspective that helps organize the large body of research in this area. A new chapter devoted to extended family relationships, with special focus on grandparent-grandchild relationships, in-law relationships, and adult children and their parents. An expanded review of family conflict processes, especially in relation to decision making and power. A companion website provides chapter outlines, exam questions, and PowerPoint slides for students and instructors. Undergraduate readers should find the information easy to understand, while advanced readers, such as graduate students and professionals, will find it a useful reference to classic and contemporary research on family communication and relationships.

A smart, funny, provocative guide to the hidden dangers of "parentspeak"--those seemingly innocent phrases parents use when speaking to their young children, from "Good job!" to "Can you say thank you?"--that advocates for a more conscious approach to parenting based on respect and love for the child as an individual.

This practical guide offers mental health professionals a detailed, step-by-step description on how to conduct Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) - the empirically validated training program for parents with children who have disruptive behavior problems. It includes several illustrative examples and vignettes as well as an appendix with assessment instruments to help parents to conduct PCIT.

This is the first edited volume in the communication field to examine parent-child interaction. It creates a framework for future research in this growing area -- family communication, and more specifically, parent-child communication -- and also suggests new areas of communication research among parents and children -- cultural, work-related, taboo topics, family sex discussions, conflict, and abuse. Chapter authors provide thorough coverage of theoretical approaches, new methods, and emerging contexts including lesbian/gay parent-child relationships. In so doing, they bring a communication perspective to enduring problems of discipline, adolescent conflict, and physical child abuse. The text highlights various methodological approaches -- both quantitative and qualitative -- including conversation analysis, grounded theory, participant-observation, and phenomenological interviewing of children. It also introduces and surveys various theoretical approaches -- general systems, developmental, cultural, and intergenerational transmission.