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Zusatztext The Edmonton Journal A book with practical tips about raising children that's written by parents -- not pediatricians or psychologists -- so it stands a chance of making some sense to those of us struggling with the day-to-day stuff. Informationen zum Autor As an educator, Tom McMahon has experience at the elementary, junior high, senior high, and college levels, including twenty years as a professor of counseling and psychology at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. Tom McMahon writes a weekly newspaper parenting column for The Oregonian , is a frequent guest speaker on parenting, and has appeared on numerous radio and television shows including Oprah , Good Morning America , and the CNN and Fox television networks. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children. Klappentext The Real Parenting Experts Speak Out!For this invaluable book, Tom McMahon mounted a nationwide media campaign and gathered a wealth of tested and proven child raising tips from experienced parents in over three hundred cities across the country. Here are more than one thousand of the best, reflecting every aspect of parenting -- inside tips today's busy parents all too often don't have time to share with their family and friends. Discover fresh, unique, creative ideas that are fun, thrifty, easily accessible and pediatrician-approved for health and safety:PLAYTIME -- from indoor activities to outdoor play to coping with clutter and cleanupMEALTIME -- how to feed baby, deal with your finicky eater and dine out without losing your mindHEALTH AND SAFETY -- taking medicine painlessly, soothing colicky babies, visiting the doctor, and moreDISCIPLINE -- three easy steps that short-circuit big problems before they begin!BEDTIME -- from putting baby to bed to quieting bumps in the nightON THE GO -- travel and vacations, errands and shopping made easySELF ESTEEM AND RELATIONSHIPS -- promoting healthful self-respect and respect for othersFrom baby basics to easy toilet training to teaching your children responsibility and more, here are fast, fabulous "fixes" that work! Chapter 1: PLAY TIME Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein In a child´s world, a doll comes to life, wooden blocks are transformed into cities, and a pail of water becomes an ocean of fun. These types of activities -- creative play -- seem to be the most enjoyable for children and certainly keep their attention the longest. For example, I sometimes pause at my daughters´ bedroom door to sneak a peek into their imaginative world. I recently watched my three-year-old put her "babies" to bed. Catching my eye, she held her index finger to her lips and whispered, "Shhh, babies night-night." My six-year-old, only a few feet away, was building a skyscraper with her blocks and Legos. Concentrating with the intensity of an architect, she paused briefly before placing each new piece on the structure. These creative moments stimulate a child´s intellectual development, say the child-care experts. And some adults actually credit these early experiences with influencing their career paths many years later. After repeatedly seeing my children abandon an expensive new toy for the box it came in, I finally learned that simple props found around the house could inspire the best creative play. The abandoned toy could be only one thing, but that simple brown box became their hideout, a crib for their babies, and a "car" to push each other around in. Many store-bought toys, especially the fad toys hyped by the media, can´t hold my daughters´ attention the same way creative play can. For example, my six-year-old and her friend recently complained of being bored; they had exhausted their toy supply in a matter of minutes. Looking around for something to occupy their time, I yanked the bedspread off my daughter´s bed and draped it over three chairs, ...
