Time Out!: A Parents' Guide to Understanding and Dealing with Challenging Children

by Malin Alfvén, Kristina Hofsten

Overview

"I've failed as a parent," is a common statement of resignation when a child suddenly becomes awkward, defiant, angry, or generally impossible. What worked to calm them down a year ago might not necessarily work now and the parent blames herself for being too lenient or too strict.

There's usually nothing developmentally wrong with an unruly child, but it can be a pain to deal with. Written by two child psychologists, outlines all of the developmental stages toddlers, children, and adolescents transition through, and how their behavior reflects that.

With humorous anecdotes from real parents who have dealt with the same "crises" as most other parents, this guide offers hands-on-advice to deal with problems and also laugh a little.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629148816
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	02/10/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Malin Alfvén: Malin Alfvén worked for twenty-five years as a child and parental psychologist in maternal and child health care in Stockholm. Now she has a private practice in Stockholm, Sweden.
Kristina Hofsten: Kristina Hofsten is a journalist and has been writing about children and parents in the Swedish magazine, We Parents, for twenty-five years. She has written several parenting books and lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

Table of Contents

You are not alone! 9

Defiance and maturity 11

Defiance is something we do throughout life 13

A starting point for something new 14

Is it my fault? 15

The child makes you the parent you are 16

Pondering and processing around the clock 18

There are no simple solutions 18

Seven leaps during the first year 21

All the leaps consist of three phases 24

Developmental leaps 25

Nine months old - time for passion 31

Now we require more of the child 34

Love for the parents 37

Tumultuous period 38

Two years old - period of frontal collisions 41

"I can do it myself" 44

Dare to get angry 46

Putting your foot down 49

There is always a reason 51

Defiance - mostly towards the parents 52

Four years old - the world opens up 57

The child becomes social 60

Both small and big 62

Helpful - at least while away 63

Mom and Dad are the best 65

Struggle of the giants 66

Fears 69

Six years old - little teenage years 73

Moderate responsibility 76

Fun and friends 77

Time of changes 78

Anxiety in the body 81

Anxiety in the soul 82

The child needs resistance 83

Extra-demanding children - more of everything 89

Controlling parents and siblings 92

What can we do? 93

Write down the rules 94

Alphabet kids are something else 96

About Isaac, five years old: "I try everything, but nothing works" 99

About Klara, three years old: "The only thing that helps me is holding her" 105

About Ellen, almost four years old: "She controls the whole family with an iron fist" 107

About Jacob, seven years old: "Jacob is not in a defiant phase; he is this way" 110

Around nine years old - the forgotten years 117

The adult world beckons and frightens 120

The environment becomes increasingly important 121

To belong 122

Wild mixing 124

Many do not feel well 126

Divorce 127

Twelve wars old - a period of transition 131

Too small and too big 133

Private room 135

The big questions of life 136

Adolescence - goodbye to childhood 141

Who loves a teenager? 143

Pregnant - something entirely new 147

Preapring for the unexpected 150

The relationship changes 152

Living in the present and in the past 152

The self-image changes 154

Pink clouds and black holes 155

The baby will do well 156

Index 159