Becoming a parent is a seismic shift. For most, that sparkling newborn rocks your world with their smooth skin and fuzzy head you just can't stop sniffing. But as soon as you get the hang of caring for them, they change! Soon enough they are three-years-old and screaming in what seems like ACTUAL pain that they have to wear clothing (the nerve!). Then comes the hard eye rolls and sarcasm in 4th grade. And eventually a teenager who can outright refuse to do something. What then?
Alternating yelling and ignoring gets you nowhere and the authoritarian approach isn't working. You know what NOT to do, but what TO do?
This book brings what's important into focus: who you are as a person and parent, and how that affects your relationships with children. What if self-awareness and personal development were the ways to improve your family life? It is possible that building emotional intelligence and self-regulation skills will create a more peaceful home. Maybe we need to move beyond self-care into self-advocacy! And sometimes a reminder about child development or a tip about communication will shift the dynamic and help you get out of your own way. When we get out of our heads and into OUR hearts, it becomes clear how to best interact with children: with love and compassion. Our intentions and behavior towards our children can help them grow up with heart; the big hearts that the world needs right now.
Show moreBecoming a parent is a seismic shift. For most, that sparkling newborn rocks your world with their smooth skin and fuzzy head you just can't stop sniffing. But as soon as you get the hang of caring for them, they change! Soon enough they are three-years-old and screaming in what seems like ACTUAL pain that they have to wear clothing (the nerve!). Then comes the hard eye rolls and sarcasm in 4th grade. And eventually a teenager who can outright refuse to do something. What then?
Alternating yelling and ignoring gets you nowhere and the authoritarian approach isn't working. You know what NOT to do, but what TO do?
This book brings what's important into focus: who you are as a person and parent, and how that affects your relationships with children. What if self-awareness and personal development were the ways to improve your family life? It is possible that building emotional intelligence and self-regulation skills will create a more peaceful home. Maybe we need to move beyond self-care into self-advocacy! And sometimes a reminder about child development or a tip about communication will shift the dynamic and help you get out of your own way. When we get out of our heads and into OUR hearts, it becomes clear how to best interact with children: with love and compassion. Our intentions and behavior towards our children can help them grow up with heart; the big hearts that the world needs right now.
Show moreSarah MacLaughlin is a social worker, parent educator, and author of the award-winning, bestselling book, What Not to Say: Tools for Talking with Young Children. She is a writer, trainer, and content expert for ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life. Sarah's writing has been featured in many places, including online at The Huffington Post. She is a human development nerd dedicated to the well-being of children and their families. Sarah is a San Francisco Bay Area native who now lives in the woods of Maine with her family, including a teenaged son who gives her plenty of opportunities to take her own advice.
Midwest Book ReviewRaising Humans With Heart: Not a How-To Manual
lives up to its name, providing a book for parents of toddlers to
teens which illustrates the concept of having heart and connects it
to leading a good life. Many an adult will find this holds
surprising lessons for them; not just about past childrearing pros
and cons, but in its insights about human development: "Decades
later, we still haven't figured out what kind of parenting leads to
optimal human development, but we're getting closer and know that
connection and attachment are key." Sarah MacLaughlin explores
different parenting styles, their impact on the entire family, and
how kids feel and process emotions. Her discussions about creating
inclusive communities, subconsciously sabotaging relationships and
teachings, and normalizing gender and sexuality differences provide
thought-provoking inspections of conscious and unconscious choices
that either lend to or detract from building big-hearted kids. From
identifying and acknowledging stories of victimization and
powerlessness and changing them, to developing a more conscious
perspective of what it means to have a heart, MacLaughlin provides
the nuts and bolts of embracing diversity and gratitude. This will
enhance not only a child's training, but the entire family's
interactions. Perhaps this is the greatest difference between
Raising Humans With Heart and other books appealing to parents.
It's not a "parenting" book, per se, but an inspection of the
intrinsic belief systems and approaches to life that make us better
humans. Those seeking an instructional guide to better overall
living and social interactions, beginning with kids, will find
Raising Humans With Heart the perfect starting point for fostering
a better world.
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