The Parent Practice team, led by Melissa Hood and Elaine Halligan, have been delivering positive parenting courses since 2004 designed to make families happier by giving parents skills and strategies that allow them not only to parent more effectively, but to enjoy their children more. Based on science and tested in families, Real Parenting for Real Kids provides realistic and workable solutions for real families living real lives in the 21st century.
Melissa Hood draws on years of experience as a professional and as a parent to debunk many of the myths of parenting, provide insights into children s behaviour and practical solutions to everyday issues faced by parents of school aged children. With worksheets and other resources, you will learn the 7 essential skills and be able to take action immediately to transform your family life. Far from making you feel guilty about your parenting this book celebrates mums and dads and the creative solutions they find for everyday parenting dilemmas. The experiences of hundreds of parents are shared here.
Introduction
How to get the best out of this book
Part I: 7 essential skills for bringing out the best in your children
Chapter 1 – Skill 1: Knowing your child - Understanding temperament and stages of development.
Practical ways to really get to know your child.
Chapter 2 – Skill 2: Encouraging cooperation and confidence with Descriptive Praise - Using Descriptive Praise to foster strong self-esteem, to build strong characteristics and good behaviours in your child; to encourage cooperation and listening.
Chapter 3 – Skill 3: Listening and connecting - Using Emotion Coaching to develop emotional intelligence in children, to build empathy and resilience and to encourage them to talk to you.
Chapter 4 – Skill 4: Setting up for success - Using many micro skills to manage challenging family
situations and to train children in good habits and life skills.
Chapter 5 – Skill 5: Family values - Developing clarity around values and raising children in a purposeful way, using rules and rewards without coercion.
Chapter 6 – Skill 6: Positive discipline - Helping parents be in charge in positive ways; dispelling
the myths around discipline and using a problem-solving approach to behaviours you want to change.
Chapter 7 – Skill 7: Keeping calm – the holy grail of parenting - Understanding why we get upset and respond ineffectively when things go pear-shaped and how we can keep calm.
Part II: Applying the skills to everyday parenting challenges
Chapter 8 – Their world of relationships - Fostering harmony and resolving conflict between siblings and others; exploring friendships, bullying, social skills; being an only child.
Chapter 9 – Their intellectual world - Bringing out the best in your child at school, managing stress, handling homework, encouraging focus and organisational skills, fostering curiosity and passion and the role of non-academic activities.
Chapter 10 – Their physical world - Encouraging your children to have a healthy relationship with their bodies, positive body image and self-care; the role of sport; channelling energy positively.
Chapter 11 – Their digital world - Teaching children to be safe and kind online.
Chapter 12 – Their moral world - Understanding why lying, stealing, cheating, bullying, swearing and other ‘bad’ behaviours happen and what to do about it; the role of apologies; developing healthy attitudes to sex.
Chapter 13 – Their world of responsibility - Teaching children to take responsibility for their own behaviour, chores and possessions and to make contributions to the family.
Chapter 14 – Beyond their world - Encouraging children to take an interest in the world beyond them, developing a sense of community, gratitude, wonder and openness; fostering a sense of something bigger than them.
What Next?
Acknowledgements
Index
