Parent Guide: Parent Guide: Handling and Preventing Conflicts

Book excerpt: Parenting is both rewarding and challenging. All first-time parents are only partially prepared to embrace the joys and struggles of parenting. Also, each child, no matter where they are in the birth order in a family, is a unique being, requiring parents to adapt their parenting style to meet the needs and navigate the challenges of each child. The book's information and suggestions are based on the latest research and best practice recommendations in child development and clinical child and adolescent psychology. They also come from the author's experience as a child, adolescent, father, grandfather, clinical child and adolescent psychologist, and educator for child psychology doctoral students and child psychiatry fellows. The first three chapters cover what to expect in each stage of normal development, which provides perspective on what to expect as a child moves from toddler to high schooler. Knowing what to expect provides guidelines for providing appropriate nurturing and structure for each stage of development. Human behavior is all about the brain. Once parents understand the basics of neurodevelopment, they can encourage and support the healthy development of critical executive functions that enable children to learn, adapt to change, interact appropriately with others, and navigate the challenges and disappointments in life. Also, continuously focusing on building and growing connectedness and supporting a healthy lifestyle for all family members substantially contributes to each member's general well-being and for the family unit's good. Chapters four through eight help parents and children develop skills for mutually beneficial interaction. These skills will allow you to avoid and work through conflicts when necessary. Chapters nine through eleven provide how-to guides for handling common parent-child conflict scenarios. Each chapter provides examples and easy-to-follow steps to implement the suggestions for each stage of development: toddler, preschool, school-age, middle school, and high school. The appendix provides guidance on when to seek professional help, links to valuable resources, and directions and charts for implementing evidence-based solutions for parent-child and family problems and promoting positive relationships.