Based on the view that parents need to balance nurturing behaviors that demonstrate love and affection with the discipline that children need in order to learn and thrive, this book presents the Common Sense Parenting program from Girls and Boys Town as adapted for parents of toddlers and preschoolers. Offering logical techniques and foundations…

This text is designed to enable parents to become powerful advocates for their gifted children at school and at home. Chapters 1 through 5 focus on becoming an advocate at home. Chapter 1 discusses three broad characteristics of giftedness, the difference between bright and gifted children, and other dimensions of giftedness. Chapter 2 provides a…

This book discusses characteristics of individuals with Asperger syndrome that affect behavior, and presents strategies for preventing behavioral problems. Chapter 1, "An Overview of the Characteristics of Asperger Syndrome that May Impact Behavior," discusses specific characteristics that affect cognition, language, socialization, sensory…

The Child Care Initiative Project, a public-private partnership designed to build the supply of child care throughout California, has achieved remarkable success in recruiting and training providers and increasing the number of child-care spaces in family day-care settings. Community-based organization and strong evaluation instruments have been…

Parents' relationship with a child will change when the child becomes an adolescent, but the relationship does not necessarily have to change for the worse. On the premise that knowing what to expect of this change is half the task of successfully parenting an adolescent, this book describes the "normal" developmental changes young people undergo…

This booklet offers 101 tips on ways parents and other adults can become more involved in children's education. Suggestions are provided in 13 sections: (1) Learning Begins at Home; (2) Using the Newspaper for Better Learning; (3) Make Family Time = Learning Time; (4) Starting School Ready to Learn; (5) Building Self-Esteem; (6) Improving Academic…

This policy paper addresses policymakers' concerns about parents' dwindling role in their children's lives and the resulting burden that has been placed on schools. A historical perspective of the roles of families and schools is provided. First, the man's employment in a job outside the home as households left the farm, and then the mother's…

This handbook is designed to help parents understand, encourage, and help their gifted children. A brief overview includes discussions of the meaning of the term "gifted," the identification of gifted children, and the goals of gifted education. Parents are advised to assist their children with time management, decision making about time…

Noting that the continuing need for services that support families is often met by home visiting, this guidebook compiles personal stories, relevant research, and practical strategies to allow social workers, educators, and other early childhood professionals as well as those who train home visitors to better understand the complex nature of this…

In parents' quest to keep children "well-rounded" with out-of-school activities, they leave little time for homework and other activities considered by many to be important for their education. However, those parents who advocate for reduced homework loads, stress-free schoolwork, and an increase in extracurricular activities may actually be doing…

This book offers educators and parents who work to forge authentic partnerships between home and school new insights based on the author's experiences with family literacy projects. During an 8-year study, the author examined the experiences of adult participants in school-based family literacy programs, exploring what accounted for sustained…

Noting that developing a Head Start family partnership is an ongoing process that begins at enrollment and continues through transition out of the program, this guide for directors and staff looks at the process of developing such partnerships and provides the skills and information needed to form meaningful partnerships. Following an introductory…

This book provides early childhood educators with perspectives and tools that will enable them to strengthen parents and families during the child's earliest year of development. The 25 chapters are divided into 6 parts or themes. Part one focuses on understanding families as learners from an ecological and empathetic perspective, with the premise…

Successful boarding home parents seem to have two qualities in common: they express their affection for their student openly and often, and they respect their student's desire to be treated as a mature person. Many cultural differences exist between the Indian and Eskimo students, coming from villages without high schools, and the boarding home…

The fourth of eight related documents, this monograph describes the prekindergarten identification and readiness phase of the Reading Instruction and Pupil Personnel Services (RIPPS) program. The document describes the four major components of this phase: (1) a comprehensive registration, (2) parent information presentation, (3) health screening,…