Imagine there is no one in the world with whom you can communicate. All your attempts to reach out and make sense in the world are thwarted because there is no one who understands your language. This is a normal event in child development. Yet the child with disabilities has less adaptive skills than other children her age. Attempts are more frustrating. To make matters worse, the whole circle of communication between adult and child becomes thwarted as parents and therapists, instead of reading nonverbal cues accurately, misjudge them and send the whole communication circle spiraling downward. The character, the pacing, the whole theatre of our play and movement with young children is extremely important. As we believe children must learn to speak, we adults, parents and therapists, must learn to play. It’s not that adults are not well meaning. Very many are. It’s just that most adults have no idea "how to be" in the child’s preverbal world. It is to this preverbal task that ChildDance is addressed. It describes one therapist’s encounter with six different children with special needs, how child development theory and practice is woven together to form a fabric for preverbal communication.

A unique manual to raising a child—for parents everywhere—using the metaphor of dance to provide expert, comforting advice. Having children and raising a family should be the greatest joy in one’s life, but it is a role that requires tremendous responsibility and patience. As parents, our job is to provide a strong foundation for our children, so that they can eventually grow up to become self-sufficient adults. However, just like everything in life, all children are different, some requiring more support than others and to varying degrees over time. Parenting is like a dance between parent and child. The more seamless the movements, the more graceful the interaction. When a parent takes the lead or decides to share, over time with practice, the dance can be smooth and effortless. Nevertheless, when the child is unintentionally allowed to take the lead, the parent-child dance may appear more rocky and unstable. This often occurs when the parent is unclear and at odds with their role. The ensuing battle for the lead may cause disharmony in the relationship and the dance. Parenting is a lifelong commitment that takes patience, thoughtfulness, and skill. The Parent-Child Dance is designed to explain the concept of the dance and act as a catalyst for encouraging parents to begin their journey in making positive changes in their child’s life. Parents will recognize the scenarios and gain insight through humorous examples and step-by-step strategies to avoid disharmony.

The Parent-Child Dance: A Guide to Help You Understand and Shape Your Child's Behavior, shows you how to help your child improve his behavior and become calmer, happier, and more focused. You'll also learn how to strengthen and enjoy your parent-child relationship--without guilt, shame, or blame. Written by pediatric behavioral specialist, Miriam Manela, OTR/L, this sensitively-illustrated parenting guide contains over eighty creative activities and shows you the proven techniques the author has taught to thousands of parents, kids, teachers, and therapists. Get help for your child for difficulties such as over-sensitivity or irritability; discomfort with touch, sound, smell, and taste; overly rough and rowdy behavior; frequent anger outbursts or temper tantrums; anxiety or nervousness; appearing withdrawn or shutdown; difficulty with peers, problems with teachers; and more issues that the author, a pediatric occupational therapist, has successfully treated in hundreds of patients in her private practice. Table of Contents ForewordNote to Parents, Guardians, and ProfessionalsIntroductionChapter One: Stress and the Dysregulated ChildChapter Two: The Child-on-the-EdgeChapter Three: The Princess and the PeaChapter Four: The Heat-Seeking MissileChapter Five: The Squeaky WheelChapter Six: Taking Care of YouResource GuideAcknowledgmentsIndex Recommendations and Praise for The Parent-Child Dance: "Miriam Manela has the key to help you unlock the mystery of your child's challenging behavior...A compassionate, insightful, user-friendly book." -Pat Carroll, host of "Raising Our Kids," WCBS radio. "This book is like having an occupational therapist living in your attic! Through science, step-by-step instructions, and helpful illustrations, Manela and Zwolinski beautifully reveal the secrets of therapeutic, purposeful connection for the benefit of parents and children alike. Let's dance, let's dance indeed!" -Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D., Coauthor of the Bestseller, The Art of Roughhousing "The Parent-Child Dance is a wonderful resource book for parents and professionals to help children with the range of sensory processing disorders...This must-have book is full of activities that can be easily integrated into play and everyday routines." -Dr. Georgia DeGangi Clinical Psychologist, Occupational Therapist "In this highly readable and practical book Manela and Zwolinski share hands-on approaches and easy to understand explanations of some of the underlying causes of dysregulated child behavior. The easily understandable recommendations coupled with the wonderful illustrations that clearly describe how to implement the exercises combine to make this a volume that parents will find to be a tool that can help them meet the challenge of raising a child with behavioral difficulties." -Dr. David Pelcovitz, Psychologist, Y.U. "The Parent-Child Dance offers many creative activities parents can do with their children at home to help them with some common behavioral issues." -Howard Glasser is Executive Director of Children's Success Foundation & Creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach(r) "The Parent-Child Dance could only have been written by someone with Miriam Manela's expertise, dedication, and insight. In it, Miriam helps you get in touch with your child's inner world, and gives you the tools you need to strengthen your parent-child relationship without blaming or shaming." -Richard M. Zwolinski, Author of Therapy Revolution: Find Help, Get Better, and Move On

Changing the parent-child dynamic to improve anxiety symptoms. The topic of anxious children is on the front burner these days, both among parents and mental health professionals, and its only gaining attention as more and more clinicians are presented with anxious kids in their practices. Anxiety symptoms—whether panic, OCD, phobias, social or separation anxiety—are one of the primary reasons parents seek help from a mental health professional for their child. And yet, parents may unintentionally reward or encourage the problem through their own behavior (overprotection on the one hand, punishment on the other, or avoidance of all possible anxiety-provoking situations). This book will tackle that very issue, exploring the critical parent-child “dance” at the center of child development and uncovering how, with the proper knowledge and tools at hand, therapists can guide parents in changing their dynamic so anxious outbursts are reduced and a child’s confidence and growth are better supported. A range of techniques that therapists can teach parents will be presented, including how to “change the choreography”—the parent-child dynamic—and how to work with “goodness of fit”, or temperamental differences between a parent and a child. Parent management training and parent-child interaction training strategies will also be provided.

This ground-breaking volume examines the presentation and role of children in the ancient world, and specifically in ancient Jewish and Christian texts. With carefully commissioned chapters that follow chronological and canonical progression, a sequential reading of this book enables deeper appreciation of how understandings of children change over time. Divided into four sections, this handbook first offers an overview of key methodological approaches employed in the study of children in the biblical world, and the texts at hand. Three further sections examine crucial texts in which children or discussions of childhood are featured; presented along chronological lines, with sections on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, the Intertestamental Literature, and the New Testament and Early Christian Apocrypha. Relevant not only to biblical studies but also cross-disciplinary scholars interested in children in antiquity.

We live in a chaotic and often unpredictable world, so it's only natural for you and your child to have anxieties. But seeing your child cry, cling to you, or even use aggression to avoid his or her own fears and worries may cause you to worry even more, trapping both of you in a cycle of anxiety and fear. You can interrupt this cycle with the proven-effective mindfulness and acceptance skills taught in this book. Drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy, Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance offers a new way to think about your child's anxiety, as well as a set of techniques used by child psychologists to help children as young as four let go of anxious feelings and focus instead on relationships with friends, learning new things in school, and having fun. You'll learn these techniques, use them when you feel anxious, and teach them to your child. With practice, you both will let go of anxious feelings and your child will find the confidence to enjoy being a kid.

Mindful kids are less stressed, more focused, and much happier! Mindfulness means paying attention on purpose. This sounds simple, but it's not always easy, even for children. Kids face stress every day as they try to fit in with their peers, worry about grades, and struggle to sit still in a classroom. With The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising Mindful Children, you'll learn how practicing mindfulness can help your child refocus attention to reduce anxiety, control emotions and behavior, and even improve grades. Being mindful will help your child: Become more self-aware. Control emotions. Empathize with others. Achieve academic and social success. The Everything Parent's Guide to Raising Mindful Children uses techniques such as meditation and sensory awareness to help your child gain more self-control and be less stressed. You'll also learn how to use mindfulness in your own life! With repetition, these exercises will help your children to manage their own emotions and reach their full potential, now and for years to come.