HOW TO USE THE BOOK

     Parents and caregivers may not always know what the underlying problem is, but they definitely know where things break down:  birthday parties, long car trips, getting out of the house in the morning.  Some parents may be stuck on a phrase that a preschool teacher or pediatrician used to describe their child, and they’d like more information.  However you have come to our book, we’ve organized our material to give you easy access to the information you need.  You can skip around or start at the beginning.
            Part I: The Basics provides a broad perspective on how children learn through play and by interacting with their environment. It provides Parenting Best Practices to help smooth out almost any situation.
            Part II: Understanding Development explores different areas of development in more detail.  Chapters include Social Emotional Development and Managing Behavior; Speech and Language Development; Motor Development; and Sensory Processing.  This section discusses typical development in each of these areas as well as problems that may arise in these areas, and how to support children if they are experiencing difficulty.
            Part III:  Where Children Struggle provides detailed analyses of specific environments and events, why these settings may be challenging for a child, and how to both minimize a child’s frustration or anxiety and help him to experience more success. As professionals from a variety of disciplines, we are able to look at common problems from a variety of perspectives to help readers understand why a child might struggle in a certain situation.  Chapters include:

• Life at Home:  Getting Kids to Sleep, Eat, and Dress Without Pulling Your Hair Out!
• Life Away from Home:  Ensuring Successful Experiences at Childcare Centers, Preschool, School, and After-school Programs
• Siblings and Playmates:  Can’t We All Just Get Along?
• Parks and Playgrounds:  For Some Kids, This Type of Outing Is Not a “Walk in the Park”
• Holidays, Celebrations, and Birthday Parties:  “It’s My Party, I Can Cry if I Want To!”
• Out and About:  “Unforgettable Scenes from a Shopping Mall (or Restaurant, or Vacation)

            Additionally, there are 4 children – composites of many of the characteristics we see in the children we work with – who are woven through the book.  Through their vignettes, readers see how we tackle common problems:  what questions do we ask, how do we come to our conclusions, and which strategies make an impact.
            Finally, we have a Quick Reference Guide of Tips and Strategies at the back of the book to provide easy access to tips for common problems such as:  Handling Tantrums, Leaving a Child with a Babysitter, Working with Teachers When a Child is Having Trouble, Managing a “Wild Child” at a Birthday Party, Coping with an Outing Gone Awry, and many others.
            Behavior is never straightforward.  Young children aim to please, and when they struggle, there is usually a good reason.  With our collective expertise in a variety of disciplines, we help you think about behavior differently. 
            For example, a child who doesn’t follow directions may be doing so because 1) he has learned that he doesn’t need to comply right away:  this is a learned behavior 2) he may not understand what is being asked of him: this may be an auditory comprehension or auditory processing problem or 3) he may understand what is being asked of him but not be able to figure out how to make his body do it:  this may be a motor planning problem, or dyspraxia.  The same behavior can have many causes.
            We hope our book helps you sort out the big problems from the little and gives you strategies to help a child be more successful in his everyday experiences and routines.  Thank you for reading!