In this book, the preeminent child psychologist of our time gives us the results of his lifelong effort to determine what is most crucial in successful child-rearing. His purpose is not to give parents preset rules for raising their children, but rather to show them how to develop their own insights so that they will understand their own and their children's behavior in different situations and how to cope with it. Above all, he warns, parents must not indulge their impulse to try to create the child they would like to have, but should instead help each child fully develop into the person he or she would like to be.

"Good Enough Parenting" combines principles from schema therapy and the latest research with the Louis' experiences as therapists, community leaders and parents to provide a thorough, practical, easy-to-read and well-reasoned guide. "Good Enough Parenting" introduces "Core Emotional Needs" and explains why meeting them is absolutely crucial for raising emotionally healthy children. Parents will gain insights into their own issues and learn how to avoid "Exasperation Interactions" as well as how to "Repair" after a conflict and Reconnect" with teenagers and adult children.

Syler explains how she learned to chuck perfection for practicality, offering sage advice and tips on navigating different obstacles while offering real wisdom about mothering that is tempered with humor and warmth.

Raising a child to be an authentic and mentally robust adult is one of life’s great challenges. It is also, fortunately, not a matter of luck. There are many things to understand about how children’s minds operate and what they need from those who look after them so they can develop into the best version of themselves. The Good Enough Parent is a compendium of lessons, including ideas on how to say ‘no’ to a child one adores, how to look beneath the surface of ‘bad’ behaviour to work out what might really be going on, how to encourage a child to be genuinely kind, how to encourage open self expression, and how to handle the moods and gloom of adolescence. Importantly, this is a book that knows that perfection is not required – and could indeed be unhelpful, because a key job of any parent is to induct a child gently into the imperfect nature of everything. Written in a tone that is encouraging, wry and soaked in years of experience, The Good Enough Parent is an intelligent guide to raising a child who will one day look back on their childhood with just the right mixture of gratitude, humour and love.

Peaceful parenting is hard enough for the average parent. Imagine trying to do it when you have the instincts of a tiger mother. In Untigering, Iris Chen shares her journey of leaving behind authoritarian tiger parenting to embrace a respectful, relational way of raising children. As a Chinese American mom, she draws from her experiences of living in both North America and Asia and offers insights and practices to:?Heal from your childhood wounds?Change your beliefs about yourself and your children?Parent through connection instead of control?Redefine your understanding of success?Navigate and challenge cultural norms Iris calls for a radical shift from parenting that is rooted in power to one that is grounded in partnership, but she does so with humor, humility, and empathy. This book is her invitation to you to begin your own journey of transformation as a parent.

A psychologist who evaluates the fitness of parents when their children have been removed from their custody finds herself reassessing her own mothering when her son falls victim to the opioid crisis. Psychologist and expert witness Dr. Sharon Lamb evaluates parents, particularly in high-stakes cases concerning the termination of parental rights. The conclusions she reaches can mean that some children are returned home from foster homes. Others are freed for adoption. Well-trained, Lamb generally can decide what’s in the best interests of the child. But when her son’s struggle with opioid addiction comes to light, she starts to doubt her right to make judgments about other mothers. As an expert, a professor, and a mother, Lamb gives voice to the near impossible standards demanded by a society prone to blame mothers when anything befalls their children. She describes vividly the plight of individual parents, mothers in particular, struggling with addiction and mental illness and trying to make stable homes for their kids amid the economic and emotional turmoil of their lives—all in the context of the opioid epidemic that has ravaged her home state of Vermont. In her office, during visits with their children, and in the family court, the parents we meet wait anxiously for Lamb’s verdict: Have they turned their lives around under child welfare’s watchful eye? Do they understand their children’s needs? In short, are they good enough? But what is good enough? Lamb turns that question on herself in the midst of her gradual realization of her son’s opioid addiction. Amazed at her own denial, feeling powerless to help him, Lamb confronts the heartache she can bring into the lives of others and her power to tear families apart.

You diligently attended every prenatal course. You bought a food processor so you could puree your own baby food. You spent months fantasizing about the perfect baby, and imagining the kind of parent you would be. And then the real baby arrived. And it all went to shit.If you are the kind of person who did manage to puree your own baby food while keeping up with laundry and naps without once crouching on the floor of the shower and screaming silently into your hands, then you probably don't need to read this book. This is a parenting book for the rest of us. Michelle Kaye is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an expert in Infant Mental Health. She's also a mother of two who swears in front of her children far more often than she wants to admit.Better Than Good Enough is a parenting book to get you through the first six years of your child's life. It is based on personal experiences, the experiences of clients and friends, and the best evidence-based practices in the world of infant mental health. This book offers concrete suggestions on what you can do to be better, and also why "being better" is so goddamn hard.