Synopses & Reviews
With this practical guide, parents can end daily power struggles with their preschoolers, toddlers, and infants and create more time for the family to spend on things that matter by encouraging early childhood independence skills.
Every parent wants their child to be self-reliant, but in our speed-obsessed society, it's not always easy to wait for a five-year-old to tie his shoe when it's so much faster to do it for him. Dr. Alanna Levine has seen first-hand how well-meaning parents don't emphasize independence from an early age, and how this can lead to the modern phenomena of helicopter parents and boomerang children. Dr. Levine has distilled her observations into a straightforward guide based on teachable moments from breakfast to bedtime, including self-soothing, toilet training, mealtime, playtime, and chores. Parents will learn the tools they need to teach and model independence for their children as part of their everyday routine, so kids develop both confidence and skills in trying new tasks, situations, and communications on their own. While instilling independence in young children takes time and patience at the outset, Dr. Levine's methods will help families save time in the long run, as children become responsible for their daily routines and families can focus on more meaningful and productive activities.
About the Author
ALANNA LEVINE, MD, FAAP (Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics) was recently named a national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization comprised of 60,000 pediatricians. She is in private practice with Orangetown Pediatric Associates, works in the neonatal intensive care unit at Englewood Hospital and Med Center, and teaches pediatric residents at Mount Sinai Hospital. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Self-Reliant Child: Instilling Independence from the Start
Chapter 1: The Night Circus: Healthy Sleep Habits
Chapter 2: The Comfort Zone: Self-Soothing Without Props
Chapter 3: The Food Fight: Mealtime
Chapter 4: The Potty Police: Toilet Training
Chapter 5: Child’s Play: The Imagination Lab
Chapter 6 : The Corrections: Self-Discipline and Parental Discipline
Chapter 7: The Daily Drill: Tasks and Responsibilities
Chapter 8: Bones of Contention: Conflicts with Siblings and Friends
Chapter 9: Give and Take: Problem Solving and Decision Making
Chapter 10: The Good Word: The Power of Appropriate
Praise
Notes
About the Author
Index