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Aimed at today's generation of grandparents who refuse to be treated as befuddled old dears, this award-worthy book will take you through a hilarious series of scientifically questionable quizzes, flowcharts, role-playing exercises, checklists and celebrity advice. Worried you might not be a competent gran or gramps? Well, don't panic! Yet. This will arm you with the essential tips and tricks the so-called experts don't dare to tell you. Find out: What to do if your grandchild is ugly. Ways to inform your daughter she's a hopeless mum. Which illnesses to fake to get out of babysitting. Simple ways to make your war stories more exciting. What happens when grannies go evil. How to spot if you're losing your memory. Of course, you could read a normal book on grandparenting, full of nice, fluffy ways to bond with your grandchild and Oprah-inspired guff on modern child-rearing. Yes, it might make you a better grandparent. But at what cost? Your children have an agenda here, and you need to understand what it is. Even now, they are plotting ways to exploit your energy, money and digestive biscuits. With this book, the fight back begins . . . Praise for 'Muddle Your Way Through Fatherhood': "A witty, must-read book for both men on the verge of becoming a dad or knee deep in kids already. It will have both mums and dads laughing out loud." - Familiesonline.co.uk "Rude, crude and perfect for all dads to be... Hilarious!" - Practical Parenting "Comedic genius - the best parenting book I've read. Bypass the yawnsville factual books and get this one. Honestly, I really loved it and it's the one I'm going to buy for Dads to be in future. It's pants-pissingly funny (a rating that should be available on Amazon and The Book Depository), but it's also true. Facts are offered up with maximum wit and sarcasm as well as real advice on how to handle situations without group hugs and over-emoting. I'm definitely keeping this book on hand. Muddle Your Way Through Fatherhood covers how real people handle parenting's tricky situations. Not how Super Nanny and Dr Phil would handle them were they to mate and produce a golden child. And if the Dad in your life isn't quite cutting it, get him a copy too so that he may brush up on his fathering (and husbanding) skills. It's bloody hilarious and very clever." - Parentalparody.com "The book dads across the world have been waiting for all their lives, letting you in on the insider secrets the so-called 'real' parenting books don't dare tell you. It will arm you with all the tips, cheats and excuses you're going to need!" - MADE Magazine

In a world full of many influences, The Parenting Project shows you how, through the practice of daily conversation, to maintain influence in your child's life. Are you losing the influence game with your children? If you want to direct your child's growth, then they need to get to know you. In The Parenting Project, parenting experts Dr. Amy Alamar and Dr. Kristine Schlichting show you how to talk with your children on a regular basis to gain their trust. In a time when kids have many things vying for their attention, you want to become the go-to person, the one they turn to the most for advice and comfort. Sometimes it's difficult to speak with your children about serious subjects. That's why The Parenting Project teaches you how to make a habit of it, providing you with prompts to help start potentially difficult conversations across a broad range of subjects that apply to everyday life. The authors have divided these conversations into five categories to inform your approach—Heart-based, Uncomfortable, Dangerous, Character, and Brave—because each type requires different strategies and "conversation starters." The book includes story after story of how parents have built extraordinary relationships with kids through the act of talking with one another, day by day. With some help from Dr. Alamar and Dr. Schlichting, it will be become easier to open up conversations with (rather than at) your children so that when the big questions arise, your child will turn to you first.

Whether members of the family are headed to school or work, smartphones accompany family members throughout the day. The growing sophistication of mobile communication has unleashed a proliferation of apps, channels, and platforms that link parents to their children and the key institutions in their lives. While parents may feel empowered by their ability to provide their children assistance with a click on their smartphone, they may also feel pressured and overwhelmed by this need to always be on call for their children. This book focuses on the phenomenon of transcendent parenting, where parents actively use technology to go beyond traditional, physical practices of parenting. In drawing on the experiences of intensely digitally-connected families in Singapore to tell a global story, Sun Sun Lim argues how transcendent parenting can embody and convey, intentionally or not, the parenting priorities in these households. Chapters outline how parents exploit mobile connectivity to transcend the physical distance between themselves and their children, the online and offline social interaction environments, and the timelessness of seemingly ceaseless parenting. Transcendent Parenting further explores how mobile communication allows parents to be more involved than ever in their children's lives, leaving readers to question whether or not parents have become too involved as a result. With its clear discussions of the effects of transcendent parenting on parents' wellbeing and children's personal development, Transcendent Parenting will appeal to a broad audience of readers, from scholars, educators and policy makers to parents and young people across the globe.

Maximize Your Success in the Life-Altering Job of Step-Parenting. **** No matter who you are, and how much experience you’ve had with kids, becoming a step-parent, or “blending” families is difficult work. The book presents 8 Strategies, in the form of action steps, to maximize anyone’s chances of success. Written in a non-apologetic voice, the authors present strong and specific direction for handling common problems. Vignettes of 30 real-life family situations support the strategies suggested. Issues and examples are applicable cross-culturally, and address needs of both men and women. * * * As a clinical social worker working with children and families for over thirty years, I was amazed that a book for stepparents was finally written in a no-nonsense approach to melding two or more families as a whole. There is now a map to navigate this potential mine field. The authors traverse the mine field with specific and practical advice for real world parents and real world children. Written with their special ability to pull the reader in and make you feel you can do it! -Rhonda Terpak, LCSW **** Finally! A book that skips the psychological babble and offers straight-up advice for building a loving, respectful blended family. This book should be required reading for anyone who applies for a marriage license the second time around! -Rod Slane, step-father; and composer, Prescription Audio. **** These authors have provided a nuts and bolts guide that offers simple solutions to a complex issue. It will remain on my nightstand where it is destined to become a well-worn reference manual for this busy career woman who also happens to be the adoptive parent and step-parent of seven children. This is a must for anyone who is now, or is considering to become a step-parent! -Jill Noonan, film producer, Dreams Beyond Production. **** Another great book destined to be a best seller. These authors never cease to amaze me! It is like reading a novel, except the characters are real. Insightful, interesting, and a page-turner.-Uwe Geertz, Ph.D., professor of psychology.

Co-Parenting from the Inside Out shares real-life stories of co-parenting in diverse circumstances to show what worked, what didn’t, and how worthwhile the parental effort can be in helping children survive and thrive.

You are a loving person, and you love kids. But what is love, exactly, by your definition? Have you ever really thought about it? Is love simply some warm “fuzzy” that you’ve been taught to express with three little words? Or is it much more than that? And how would you describe it? Have you explored any of the beliefs, the rote script comments, the auto-responses, the unquestioned systems, all the “that’s just the way it is” programs, the generational patterns, the inconsistent behaviors that send mixed messages, and the copy-and-paste words and attitudes that you inadvertently share with kids? And have you intentionally worked to raise the frequency of your own lovelight, revealing and healing any parts of you that may affect the energy, and thus, the growth, brilliance and resilience of children in your care? Come. Let’s explore and train our hearts to see through the lens of love to make the necessary adjustments to our programming. Let’s shine the light on and disrupt the old ways of thinking and behaving that have created the undesirable, inequitable energies of the collective consciousness and the current systems. With that light, we can heal, change, grow and create a brighter, new environment for the kids, with the kids, preserving and maintaining the strength of our inherent lovelights.