For three decades Dr. Howard H. Irving has championed the use of divorce mediation outside the adversarial court system to save couples and their children from the bitter legacy of legal wrangling and winner-takes-all custody battles. Now, calling on his vast experience mediating more than 2,000 cases, Irving has written Children Come First directly for couples contemplating or undergoing divorce. In this book the author takes a tripartite approach that points out: the dangers of the adversarial approach to divorce, the benefits of divorce mediation, and how parents can put their children first during and after their divorce. Children Come First is written in a reader-friendly style with case studies, charts, and diagrams, as well as illustrations from the author's renowned practice. Ultimately, this book takes parents through the process of building a shared parenting plan that places their children's interests uppermost while still addressing the parents' unique situations and needs.

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.

Providing a wealth of detail about childhood and family structure, this book explores the hidden lives of children at the origins of Christianity. "Let the Little Children Come to Me" pays careful attention to the impact of gender, class, and slave status on children's lives.

"Deciding yes or not to motherhood can be fraught with confusion, pain, and loneliness. Many a woman is undecided about arguably the most important life-defining decision she'll make in her lifetime. With the 'Motherhood -- Is it for me?' program, the authors of this book, both dedicated and seasoned psychotherapists, created a process that has helped countless women over the last 25 years. Finally available in print, this program is the perfect resource for closely examining ambivalence around this crucial life choice. Through precise steps, readers are guided on their own personal journeys toward deeper understanding and learn what they really want. The process even allows a woman who is experiencing extremely painful immobilization to find her way through to her true desire. The authors know from their professional experience that an analytical pros-and-cons approach often fails to successfully answer this most personal question. Interspersed throughout this book are twenty diverse stories of women who made conscious choices, half deciding yes and half deciding no. Their stories -- and sometimes advice -- create a valuable community that provides support to every reader, breaking the isolation they may feel."--Book cover.

Solve toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness, and self-control. In Why is My Child in Charge?, Claire Lerner shows how making critical mindshifts—seeing children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. Using real life stories, Lerner unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to settle common challenges, such as throwing tantrums in public, delaying bedtime for hours, refusing to participate in family mealtimes, and resisting potty training. Lerner then provides readers with a roadmap for how to recognize the root cause of their child’s behavior and how to create and implement an action plan tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how parents can develop proven, practical strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected, in-control parents.

Sex instruction for primary school age children.

"Radical Marriage provides clear ideas, easy strategies to follow, and a 'radical' new paradigm for creating the relationship of your dreams." - Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D., Co-authors of Making Marriage Simple "Radical Marriage is an accessible and clear description of the steps for relationship success with many easy-to-follow strategies for making life and love better." - Don Ferguson, Ph.D. author of Reptiles in Love and The Couples' Manual "Radical Marriage is for couples in good marriages who envision something wonderful for their future together. The Steeles have given us a manifesto and road map for marriage as a more perfect union." -William J. Doherty, Ph.D., Professor of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, author of Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World That Pulls Us Apart "Is your marriage where you want it to be? This book will challenge you to take it to the next level, beyond where you ever thought it could be. Your marriage can be more - wonderfully more, extraordinarily more, radically more!" -- Greg and Priscilla Hunt, BetterMarriages.org What kind of marriage do you want? Most couples don't want an ordinary, boring, routine relationship. They want excitement, fun, closeness, love. Marriage is an ancient institution rich with traditions and customs. As appealing as that may be, in today's modern culture, we want to forge our own path. We need security, but we also need excitement and adventure. Radical Marriage is a model for the next evolution of marriage and is new territory for committed relationships. Our marriage can be the greatest adventure of our life. It can be the vehicle for experiencing the excitement and fulfillment we've always wanted. We can only get so far on our own. To get the rest of the way, we need a committed partner. Radical Marriage promotes a much-needed paradigm shift from the perception of marriage as being old fashioned, obsolete, and with a high likelihood of failure, to a platform for the greatest adventure of our life. Radical Marriage is for couples with a good relationship who strongly believe that they are together for a reason, which is to experience life to the fullest through their relationship. This book provides solid guidance and strategies for creating a Radical Marriage, including- Radical Commitment (Chapter 2) Radical Communication (Chapters 3-6) Radical Intimacy (Chapter 7) Radical Romance (Chapter 8) Radical Sex (Chapter 9) Radical Living (Chapter 10) Radical Marriage will open your eyes, rock your world, and change your reality about marriage.

Explaining a child's beginning, is sometimes difficult and considered taboo. Written from a Christian’s perspective, this book is an honest, eye opening and humorous, mother’s attempt to satisfy her daughter’s curiosity, of where babies come from?