Expert guidance for parents on growing up their kids Psychologist Carl Pickhardt offers insight from his thirty years of experience counseling caregivers on how to navigate the adolescent development process—from eight to eighteen. For most parents, the onset of puberty brings an unexpected, even unwelcome change in their child’s behavior, which can cause bewilderment, confusion, and sadness. Dr. Pickhardt’s comforting and knowledgeable voice points out that not only can growth change many beloved characteristics of their child, but also it can alter dynamics in the relationship. Parents, teachers, and caretakers will find comfort with effective practices to help kids achieve responsible independence from the end of childhood through young adulthood and beyond.

A suspenseful thriller about a young babysitter who uses her wits and a big dose of courage as she attempts to save herself and the toddler in her care from kidnappers.

Expert suggestions for guiding your child through the rough teenage years Does it sometimes seem like your teenager is trying to push you over the edge? Learn what your child is going through and what you can do to help your teen navigate this difficult period in this practical guide from psychologist and parenting expert Carl Pickhardt. In an easy-to-read style, Dr. Pickhardt describes a 4-stage model of adolescent growth to help parents anticipate common developmental changes in their daughter or son from late elementary school through the college age years. Provides unique advice for dealing with arguing, chores, the messy room, homework, and many other issues Offers best practices for teaching effective communication, constructive conflict, and responsible decision-making Includes ideas for protecting kids against the dangers of the Internet, bullying, dating, sexual involvement, and substance use An essential road map for parents looking to guide their children on the path to adulthood.

The famous painting, Mona Lisa, describes how she was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, taken to France, hung in the Louvre Museum, was stolen and then recovered. Suggested level: junior, primary.

This account of six families whose children were wrongly seized by child protection services vividly illustrates the constitutional balancing act where medicine, family interests, and child safety can clash. They Took the Kids Last Night shows a rarely exposed side of America's contemporary struggle to address child abuse, telling the stories of loving families who were almost destroyed by false allegations—readily accepted by caseworkers, doctors, the media, and, too often, the courts. Each of the six wrongly accused families profiled in this book faced an epic and life-changing battle when child protection caseworkers came to their homes to take their kids. In each case, a child had an injury whose cause was unknown; it could have been due to an accident, a medical condition, or abuse. Each family ultimately exonerated itself and restored its family life, but still bears scars from the experience that will never disappear. The book tells why and how the child protection system failed these families. It also examines the larger flaws in our country's child protection safety net that is supposed to sort out the innocent from the guilty in order to protect children.

An NPR education reporter shows how the pandemic disrupted children’s lives—and how our country has nearly always failed to put our children first The onset of COVID broke a 150-year social contract between America and its children. Tens of millions of students lost what little support they had from the government—not just school but food, heat, and physical and emotional safety. The cost was enormous. But this crisis began much earlier than 2020. In The Stolen Year, Anya Kamenetz exposes a long-running indifference to the plight of children and families in American life and calls for a reckoning. She follows families across the country as they live through the pandemic, facing loss and resilience: a boy with autism in San Francisco who gains a foster brother and a Hispanic family in Texas that loses a member to COVID, and finds solace when they need it most. Kamenetz also recounts the history that brought us to this point: how we thrust children and caregivers into poverty, how we over-police families of color, how we rely on mothers instead of infrastructure. And how our government, in failing to support our children through this tumultuous time, has stolen years of their lives.

Are we naturally brutish or collaborative? The West has consistently argued for the former and imposed ‘civilization’ onto the world. But that was simply a convenient argument based on their immediate environs and to feed their insatiable greed. The East was always much more harmonious, just like human societies that survived 50,000 years. But look where it got them? Who were the ‘savages’ by the way? We lost morality and succumbed to an individualistic life of comfort, which has resulted in gross inequalities (to their benefit) and unprecedented environmental destruction. Is this ‘progress?’ This decision will fundamentally determine our choices for the future. Do we continue up the path of restlessness (or recklessness) or go back down the road of peacefulness (within ourselves) and harmony (with our environment)? The latter will not be easy, though, and the cynic in me says, “Why bother?” The hopeful in me, “Why not?” But the latter continues to prevail, and that is my single most important reason for writing this book – to leave a legacy for my children. I continue to hope that they may find a life of meaning rather than be swept away in one of indulgence.

Have you ever wanted your parents to buy you a gift so bad that you swore you would do anything for it, and when you received the gift you barely looked at it after taking it out of the box? Then when your parents wanted to give it away you had a fit, screamed and shouted that it was yours and you didn't want to share it with anyone. Suddenly a few years later you finally notice that the item is gone and you have no idea where it went. This is how God feels when He gives us a gift and we refuse to use it for the purpose for which it was intended. Who Stole My Gift will cause you to take a deeper look into yourself and help you identify those gifts that you have let go. It will also help you understand how to use them and how to recognize when you are operating in an area that God has not anointed or ordained you for. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered "who stole their gift."

"... practical, do-able and inspiring..." — Max Lucado Do you sometimes wonder what happened to your joy? Have you ever considered the awesome possibility of a life full of joy? Sandra Steen has written this inspiring book to help you regain the joy that life's circumstances may have taken from you. Who Stole My Joy? shows you how to recapture and sustain a vital and powerful ally in your daily life — joy. This captivating story, in which a personified Joy meets his enemies and friends, teaches us all that joy is a guest who is every present to be invited into our daily circumstances. Discover the keys to maintaining a positive attitude despite life's stress and hardships. Each chapter reveals the pitfalls that cause your joy to ebb and how to keep your joy flowing no matter what life might "throw at you." You'll find out how to uncover the negative influences, or Joy RobbersTM, that conspire to steal your joy, and you'll learn how to invite powerful Joy BuildersTM into your daily life to increase your joy. Ultimately, using the Joy ProtectorsTM in the concluding chapter, you will be empowered to maintain your joy and life life victoriously! As you learn how to walk in joy consistently, you'll find a multitude of benefits, including peace, hope, vision and purpose, will accompany you in your future. Joy is a spiritual advantage that will lift and sustain you, enhancing your life and the lives of those connected toyou. Joy is indeed a choice. This book will compel you to choose joy each day as a way of life! "It is my pleasure to recommend to you Sandra Steen. Sandra's approach is practical, do-able and inspiring, as she empowers each person to personal and group success." —Max Lucado, Senior Minister, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, Texas, and best-sellling author "Sandra Steen is a powerhouse whose fuel is joy and whose source is the Lord. Listen to her and learn." —Laurie Beth Jones, author of 4 Elements of Success, Jesus CEO, and The Path

This book also tells the readers that to have a fair deal from life, one has to be fair with life, along with being mindful and proactive towards it. The dynamic fundamentals of the life, like relationships, parenting, personal goals, behavioural problems and handling of stress, are fairly discussed and dealt with in this book. Author is positive that this book, with its galore of information and insights into life’s evolution and its modalities, will refurbish your outlook about life and will take you to the altogether different level of awareness. So, dive into it and rediscover the new world of your exalted visions, dreams and thoughts.