Family Development

Judy Batalion grew up in a house filled with endless piles of junk and layers of crumbs and dust; suffocated by tuna fish cans, old papers and magazines, swivel chairs, tea bags, clocks, cameras, printers, VHS tapes, ballpoint pens - obsessively gathered and stored by her hoarder mother. The first chance she had, she escaped the clutter to create a new identity - one made of order, regimen, and clean white walls. Until, one day, she found herself enmeshed in life's biggest chaos: motherhood.

From her earliest memories, Minu felt like an outsider. It wasn't just her peculiar name, but also her light skin and cinnamon-swirl hair—so unlike the dark features of her Mexican family—that drew comments from neighbors and strangers. No one took her questions seriously, leaving her yearning for answers. Meanwhile, she had to endure her father's violence, her mother's negligence, and the poverty and drugs in Cashion, Arizona. Determined to carve out her own destiny, Minu embarked on a journey to uncover the mysteries of her past.

Ginger’s candid approach will help moms move beyond the frustrations of not knowing how to handle issues of disobedience and into a confident, well-balanced approach to raising their children.

Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby's First Years is a trusted and essential resource for new and experienced parents alike. You'll find practical guidance on caring for the new little one in your family, from birth to age 3. Inside you'll find evidence-based advice on giving your baby the best nutrition and introducing your toddler to solids, tips for forming healthy sleep habits, strategies for dealing with fussiness and tantrums, advice on establishing a secure bond with your child, monthly updates on your child's growth and development, and much more.

A guide to leaving painful, destructive relationships behind - both at home and at work. Toxic relationships are characterized by the slow erosion of self-esteem, a loss of personal identity, or a growing desire to please friends, partners, and family members who are impossible to please. In this uplifting and informative audiobook, psychotherapist Avril Carruthers shows why we get involved in toxic relationships in the first place, and instructs the listener on how to recognize if they’re involved in one.

In a compelling narrative that introduces historical and contemporary research on self-directed education, Unschooled also spotlights how a diverse group of individuals and organizations are evolving an old schooling model of education. These innovators challenge the myth that children need to be taught in order to learn.

In his groundbreaking best seller The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker showed millions of readers that, like every creature on earth, human beings can predict violent behavior. Now, in this exclusive audio presentation of Protecting the Gift, de Becker empowers parents to fully trust their own intuition when it comes to their children's safety. In this indispensable resource, de Becker provides keen insights into the behavior and strategies of predators. He offers practical new steps to enhance children's safety at every age level: specific questions parents can ask to effectively screen and evaluate babysitters, daycare services, schools, and doctors; a "Test of 12" safety skills children need before being alone in public; warning signs to help parents protect children from sexual abuse; and how to keep teenage girls and boys from unsafe situations with peers and adults. De Becker also shatters the myth that rules like "Never talk to strangers" will keep your children safe. By showing what danger really looks like - as opposed to what we might imagine it looks like - de Becker gives parents freedom from many common worries and unwarranted fears.

Never before has raising teens been so perplexing. If you are wondering what on earth you're doing wrong, you're not alone. But there is hope. By learning to meaningfully express love amid your teens' many changes, you can stay connected, maintain influence, and help them grow into healthy adults.

Do you find it difficult communicating with your spouse? Are you tired of arguing and fighting with your spouse whenever you try to communicate? Is your spouse not talking to you anymore? You are not alone. Many couples (including us) have had to deal with these communication problems at some point in marriage, and it's not fun! But don't worry. No matter what communication problems you struggle with, you can learn how to communicate effectively with your spouse today.

With Mothers Who Can't Love: A Healing Guide for Daughters, Susan Forward, Ph.D., author of the smash #1 best-seller Toxic Parents, offers a powerful look at the devastating impact unloving mothers have on their daughters - and provides clear, effective techniques for overcoming that painful legacy.

"Why me, Lord?" Amid the toddler tantrums, the mealtime melees, and the backseat blowups, have you found yourself asking God that same question? Maybe even screaming it into a couch pillow? You're not alone. Your most trying moments as a parent can quickly spiral into discouragement, hopelessness, and sometimes even resentment toward God or your family. Abbie Halberstadt, author of the bestselling M Is for Mama, shares scriptural wisdom and lessons learned from her own challenges as a mama of ten to help shift your perspective on the hardships of parenting and of life, in general.

End the cycle of abuse-for good. Authors Charlie Donaldson, Randy Flood, and Elaine Eldridge uncover a proven action plan that violent men can use to change their behavior. Filled with insightful questionnaires and actual case histories, the essential how-to book Stop Hurting the Woman You Love, will help end abusive patterns in favor of healthier, happier relationships....

Roles. They define our rights, obligations, responsibilities, beliefs, and even who we are. How well do we each understand our respective roles? How do we teach our children about proper roles? How would the problems children and parents face change if they better understood roles?This audiobook makes roles easier to understand, and it shows how to strengthen roles and empower ourselves and those we live and work with to reach our full potential.

This is the first book of its kind that calls attention to an important fact: Parents can make a tremendous impact on their child through behavioral practices taught at home. Dr. Barbera has created a tool kit that any parent can use to help remediate - and in some cases eliminate - some symptoms of autism and other developmental delays in young children, even in as little as 15 minutes a day.

In Grounded, we meet Doreen as she’s struggling with the realization that she’s pregnant, weighing her own dreams and professional ambitions against the life she imagines is necessary to nurture and raise children well. Doreen’s mother was a stay-at-home mom who did everything in her power to ensure her daughters had the same opportunities as the white kids in their New Jersey suburb. Years later, the influence of her mom still looming large as her own children grow up, Doreen begins to see her mother’s choices in a different light.

If you are a stepparent, you may know how challenging a role it can be. It takes more than the will to make it work. Stepparents must apply a range of skills to keep their families together, and they have to be prepared to be flexible in the process.

Kim West, LCSW-C, known to her clients as The Sleep Lady®, has developed an alternative and effective approach to helping children learn to gently put themselves to sleep without letting them "cry it out" - an option that is not comfortable for many parents. Essential listening for any tired parent, or any expectant parent who wants to avoid the pitfalls of sleeplessness, Good Night, Sleep Tight offers a practical, easy-to-follow remedy that will work for all families in need of nights of peaceful slumber!

The essential guide for fathers of one - and two-year-olds, completely revised and updated. Learn how to make a positive impact in these milestone years of your child's development, when he or she goes from crawling to walking, and from knowing just a few words to speaking in complete sentences. Armin Brott guides you through this crucial phase of fatherhood three months at a time, in the third volume of the New Father series trusted by millions of dads nationwide.

In this story of perseverance in the face of adversity, Regina Calcaterra recounts her childhood in foster care and on the streets and how she and her savvy crew of homeless siblings managed to survive years of homelessness, abandonment, and abuse. Regina Calcaterra's emotionally powerful memoir reveals how she endured a series of foster homes and intermittent homelessness in the shadow of the Hamptons, and how she rose above her past while fighting to keep her brother and three sisters together.

The Marshalls were the model family of Tom’s River, New Jersey, living the American dream and seemingly in possession of all that money could buy. Rob Marshall, a successful insurance broker, was the big breadwinner, king of the country-club set. Maria Marshall was his stunningly beautiful wife and the perfect mom to their three great kids.Then one night, while the couple drove home from Atlantic City, Rob, his head bloodied, reported Maria had been brutally slain. Sympathy poured in - until disquieting facts began to surface....