Understanding Your Child’s Puzzling Behavior

Cutting edge scientific research has shown that exposure to the right kind of environment during the first years of life actually affects the physical structure of a child’s brain, vastly increasing the number of neuron branches—the “magic trees of the mind”—that help us to learn, think, and remember.

Phoebe Flower’s is having some friendship troubles. Plus, her impulsivity and distractibility have landed her in trouble at school again. Her parents and the school principal decide that Phoebe needs a little help to get back on track. At first, Phoebe is worried when she hears her parents talking about something called ADD. But then her mother confides to Phoebe that she had similar problems as a girl. With Mom’s encouragement, Phoebe struggles with a writing assignment. Completing it at last, Phoebe is proud of her accomplishment, and excited that, through her writing; she’s discovered the true meaning of best friend.

An informal and entertaining yet authoritative look at the science of babies minds. The three research psychologists, all of whom are parents, and two of whom, Meltzoff and Kuhl, are married to each other, write about child development as though they were speaking directly to parents they know. As their title indicates, the authors find parallels between babies and scientists: both, they say, formulate theories, make and test predictions, seek explanations, do experiments, and revise what they know based on new evidence. They show specifically how babies learn about people and objects, and how they acquire language.

The Reverend Lee is suffering from a rare and acutely embarrassing situation: Back-to-Front Dyslexia. It affects only his speech, and he doesn’t realize he’s doing it, but the parishioners of Nibbleswicke are shocked and confused by his seemingly outrageous comments.

At last a cure is found and the mild-mannered vicar can resume normal service. Or at least as normal as is possible for a man who must walk backwards to be sure of talking forwards!

Negotiating the Special Education Maze is one of the best tools available to parents and teachers for developing an effective education program for their child or student. Every step is explained, from eligibility and evaluation to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and beyond. This edition covers changes in disability laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It reviews early intervention services for children from birth to age three, and for those who have young adults with special needs, it also covers transitioning out of school.

In Raising Cain, Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., two of the country’s leading child psychologists, share what they have learned in more than thirty-five years of combined experience working with boys and their families. They reveal a nation of boys who are hurting—sad, afraid, angry, and silent. Kindlon and Thompson set out to answer this basic, crucial question: What do boys need that they’re not getting? They illuminate the forces that threaten our boys, teaching them to believe that “cool” equals macho strength and stoicism. Cutting through outdated theories of “mother blame,” “boy biology,” and “testosterone,” the authors shed light on the destructive emotional training our boys receive—the emotional miseducation of boys.