The Parenting Puzzle: Your Guide to Transforming Family Life - Softcover

Candida Hunt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0954470907 ISBN 13: 9780954470906

Publisher: Family Links, 2003

Synopsis

This non-prescriptive guide to parenting focuses as much on the emotional wellbeing of the parent as on the needs of the child. The Parenting Puzzle is based on the Nurturing Programme, a well-established and highly respected 10-week course that encourages parents and carers to enjoy bringing up children and get the best out of family life. It helps us understand how emotions influence our actions,and offers many positive, practical ways of guiding children so they learn to handle both their feelings and their behaviour. It suggests ways of helping us feel good - boosting self-esteem in ourselves and in our children. In a clear, direct and sympathetic style, using cartoons, practical activities and feedback, the book is designed to reflect the powerful experience of being in a parenting group. It can be used alone, in the family, or in a self-formed group. It should also be a valuable resource for professionals working with children or supporting families - teachers, health visitors and more. New concepts and skills build on each other. They weave together the parenting skills and qualities of healthy self-esteem, self-awareness, communication and relationship skills, positive discipline, empathy and understanding children's needs according to their age. The book also emphasizes the importance of parents looking after themselves. From the early years to adolescence and beyond, The Parenting Puzzle is a toolbox to rely on and refer to at any time.

About this title

From the Author

We are so excited to be able to make the Nurturing Programme available to everyone. For 10 years we have been helping parents with the difficult job of raising children, and we know the Programme works because they keep telling us about the changes that happen in their families. It has only been possible to find out about the Programme by coming to a group for the 10-week course, but now you can work through the course at home or with a friend. And because we have included the activities we do in the groups, and lots of ideas and comments from parents, we hope you will get the sense of having companions as you read the book and think about what's already going well in your family and what you'd like to find easier.
One of the most important things if we're going to enjoy being parents is to make sure we look after ourselves. We need to give ourselves time, fun and treats as well as giving them to others. As we say in the book, you can't pour water from an empty jug. One nurturing thing we can do, for ourselves and for the family, is to find ways of making the complex task of being a parent a bit easier - and we're convinced that the Nurturing Programme has lots of ways that really do make a difference.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

About the Book - our introduction
We'd like to start by giving you the who, what, why and how of the book.

Who is it for?
It is the course workbook for parents and carers who come to the weekly Nurturing Programme sessions.
It is a stand-alone self-help book for parents and carers to work through - either on your own or with a friend, a partner or a professional.
It gives ideas and activities for health visitors and others supporting families.

What's it about?
We have designed the book to give, as far as possible, a flavour of the Nurturing Programme 10-week parenting course. The Nurturing Programme is a tied and tested course that helps anyone involved in bringing up children to thnk about what we do, why we do it, and how we feel about it. Through the weekly Circle Time sessions in school, children learn to ask themselves the same questions.

Why is the book needed?
Many of us would like to feel more confident that we're getting our children off to a good start in life.

How is the book organised?
It is divided into 10 sessions tht match the 10 weekly group sessions. Each session starts with some examplse of the feedback parents bring to groups about the new things they are trying out at home, and ends with some reflections on the topics covered in the session. Within each session there are different activities, some to think about and some to do.
We have included cartoons all the way through the book as examples of how to go about putting ideas into practice (and sometimes how not to, as well!).
At the end of the session there are suggestions about what to do either between the weekly group sessions, or before reading the next session. Talking, reading and thinking about the Programme is great; putting it into practice is just as important!
Some weeks family life may be fairly calm, and you'll find time and energy to try something new; at other times keping our heads above water is the best we can manage. It's fine if you don't do everything at first - you can always come back to it. You may feel like trying out all the ideas, or may find it easier to try one or two thngs at a time, and get comfortable with those before moving on to something else. Sometimes we notice that we're responding in a different way just as a result of having thought about what's going on. Do whatever suits you best.
One thing is certain: if we stay the same, nothing around us is likely to change very much. So if we're hoping for changes in the family, we may need to start with ourselves.

Edition details

• Publisher: Family Links
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0954470907
• ISBN 13: 9780954470906
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 248