Effective Parenting for Every Family

Parenting doesn’t always come naturally. This book provides expert guidance for caregivers who struggle with parenting because of adversity in their own lives, or simply because they are raising kids in an increasingly stressful world. As parents and caregivers, we want to shore up kids to help them through difficult or disturbing experiences. But if we or our child have experienced adversity or trauma, this can be especially challenging, and we may not have good parenting models to draw from. How do we know whether we are providing our child or teen with too much structure or not enough? How do we provide discipline that is effective but not harsh? How do we teach our kids to be resilient and manage their feelings when we have trouble managing our own? Drawing on their extensive knowledge of ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and PACEs (protective childhood experiences), psychologists Morris and Hays-Grudo describe how a balanced parenting approach helps parents manage these tricky balancing acts with confidence. Each chapter describes a key stage in a child’s life, from babyhood through the teen years and highlights behaviors that are age-typical but often challenging for parents. Real-life examples and self-help activities and quizzes bring the material to life, and a rich resources section provides additional sources of help.