Kids Development

Tired of feeling like you're constantly one meltdown away from losing it with your kids? Do you snap, yell, or shut down—then feel crushed by guilt minutes later? Have you tried “calm down” techniques that just don’t work in the middle of real-life mom chaos? You’re not a bad mom. You’re a burned-out one. Let’s be real. You didn’t expect motherhood to feel this overwhelming. You thought love and patience would come naturally. Instead, you're juggling a mental load no one sees, being pulled in a million directions, and holding in years of unprocessed anger because “good moms don’t get mad.”

Our preteen years, ages nine to 13, can present some of the most difficult times in our young lives, a period of tremendous physical and emotional change. We're eager to leave the "kid" stage, yet we're uncertain about what adolescence will bring; we start hearing the familiar refrain "wait until you're older" far too often. Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul is a companion guide for these transitional years.

Early and social interaction skills are essential for every child to get the best start in life. Skills like language, eye contact, and self-regulation are just some of the things your child needs in order to excel - personally and academically! Since the pandemic, both parents and teachers are becoming more concerned about children’s abilities to interact. On top of that, there are delays in referrals to specialists. As early interaction is so important, you are probably thinking that you don’t have the qualifications to make a difference. This is not true!

Raising Confident Black Kids includes everything Black and multi-racial families need to know to raise empowered, confident children. From the realities of living while Black to age-appropriate ways to discuss racism with your children, educator M.J. Fievre provides a much-needed resource for parents of Black kids everywhere.

With so many “experts” touting different approaches to raising thriving children, how do you know which is the best one? Dr. Rhonda Spencer-Hwang, professor of public health at Loma Linda University and mom of three, had the same question. As a member of a community known worldwide for its health and longevity, often referred to as a Blue Zone, she decided to study the area’s many centenarians to find out what they - or their parents - did right in childhood to make them so resilient to stress, disease, and the adversities of life.

Our children can be our greatest teachers. Parenting expert Susan Stiffelman writes that the very behaviors that push our buttons - refusing to cooperate or ignoring our requests - can help us build awareness and shed old patterns, allowing us to raise our children with greater ease and enjoyment.

Do you want to be the parent who listens to the unique needs of your child and gives them the support they truly need? Are you searching for a way to understand how your child’s mind really works so you can teach them how to process their emotions? It can feel like you’re being forced to walk through a minefield blindfolded when your kid thinks differently or struggles with their emotions. You just can’t get it right, feel like you’re constantly failing, and yet everywhere you look, other parents seem to be making parenting look effortlessly easy. But is that really the true reality?

What is the difference between the kid who struggles to "adult" and the one who jumps in feet first, ready to thrive? It all comes down to mindsets, skillsets, and toolsets. Either we as parents raise kids who are dependent on us or we raise kids who are confident, capable, and eager to take on the challenges of an independent adult life.

The transition from "married" to "married with children" can be tough. Before they know it, a once youthful and energetic married couple finds themselves in a minivan loaded with noisy kids and littered with Cheerios, crusty Sippy cups, banana peels, and missing library books. As much as you love your children and work hard to nurture and train them for the future, the challenges that come with parenthood can make the "for better or for worse" promise a hard one to honor.

With this unique and highly practical guide, you'll learn the science of attachment theory, and how to apply it to your coparenting relationship. Secure attachment refers to the bond between a parent and young child, which gives that child a stable and secure basis from which to negotiate life going forward. A child with a secure base can weather the storms of trauma and life changes—such as those caused by divorce—much more easily than a child who doesn't.

Read by the author. Discover how to move from fear and frustration to hope and confidence as you support your children in developing a healthy, God-honoring sexuality. Author, speaker, and mom of four, Greta Eskridge, equips parents to have age-appropriate, honest, and hope-filled conversations...

Raising Gender-Confident Kids by Dr. Jeff Myers and Dr. Kathy Koch is a practical, biblically grounded resource that helps parents guide their children toward a confident understanding of their gender.

Let Them Be Kids is a heartfelt call to slow down, reconnect, and rediscover the joy of childhood in an age of screens, schedules, and societal pressure. Written with lyrical insight and practical wisdom, Katherine Blake—a mother, early childhood expert, and advocate for intentional parenting—offers a gentle but firm reminder: children don’t need perfection. They need presence. This book isn’t another set of rigid rules or guilt-laden advice. It’s a blueprint for raising resilient, emotionally intelligent, and joyful children by simplifying your family life.

While most parenting programs are designed to coerce kids to change, Parenting Without Power Struggles does something innovative, showing you how to help your children awaken their natural instincts to cooperate, rather than employing threats or bribes, which inevitably fuels their resistance. By staying calm and being the confident "captain of the ship" your child needs, you will learn how to parent from a place of strong, durable connection, and you'll be better able to help your kids navigate the challenging moments of growing up.

This book, How to Talk to Kids So Kids Will Listen, is for those that find communicating with children frustrating and stressful. Parenting can be rewarding and joyous in so many different ways, however, it can also be exasperating and trying, especially when striving to ensure our kids listen when being communicated to.

In Raising Upright Kids in an Upside-Down World, acclaimed Catholic psychologist Dr. Ray Guarendi offers parents a roadmap through this difficult and sometimes frightening terrain. Raising Upright Kids in an Upside-Down World is a clarion call for strong, confident parenting in confusing times. More importantly, Dr. Ray gives you the resources to grow in that confidence: the knowledge of an expert, the insight of an experienced clinician, and the wisdom of decades of fatherhood. This is a book for parents who aim to form children who value the things of God, no matter the work and the effort.

Mindfulness--the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is--is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and...

Unlock the secrets to managing toddler meltdowns and behavioral challenges with real advice from a seasoned mom of four children ages 3 and under. Discover guilt-free tips for prioritizing self-care, creating a consistent care routine, and mastering strategies to handle tantrums and unwanted behaviors.

The essential guide to parenting multiracial and multiethnic children of all ages and learning to support and celebrate their multiracial identities In a world where people are more likely to proclaim color-blindness than talk openly about race, how can we truly value, support, and celebrate our...

An NPR Best Book of 2022 * One of Christian Science Monitor's 10 best books of May “This amazing new book . . . takes us on a journey through classic and contemporary philosophy powered by questions like ‘What do we have the right to do? When is it okay to do this or that?’ They explore...