Introduction

Greetings! In today’s complex world, it takes more than love and natural instincts to raise happy, well-behaved kids. It takes some skill, too! After years of gathering and simplifying all the methods that work best, we are now pleased to provide you with complete instructions for successful parenting. These easy-to-read instructions aren’t based just on theory or opinion, but on evidence from research showing the most important things that parents do to raise emotionally healthy and successful children. They’re also founded on what professionals know to work best for all kinds of parents and kids over time. We think you’ll find this to be the most helpful, complete parenting manual available.

These methods are organized into seven basic skills that any parent can learn. Unlike other parenting books, we’ll not only tell you what to do, but also how to do it, why it’s best, how to know if it’s working, and what to try if it’s not working.

The 7 Skills are explained as plainly as possible, with lots of examples. You’ll find down-to-earth phrases to make things easier to learn and use. Each skill has a symbol to help you remember it. Things you can say to your kids to help things work are given as quotes in italic letters. Key methods and topics are in boxes, making them easier to find again. At the end of each skill chapter is a summary box that you can cut out and put on your fridge, or carry with you for easy reference. This book is also unique in covering what you can expect from children, and giving you tools to check how well things are going. And since parenting isn’t all serious business, we’ll lighten it up for you.

Using these skills can help parents in all stages of parenthood. Maybe you’re just preparing for children, or you are already in turbulent times with teens. It's a good idea to get prepared, although some would argue that there is nothing that can prepare you for such a thing as parenthood! Reading, learning, and talking about parenthood can give you many ideas. Consider doing workshops or online education on parenting, child psychology or teaching skills in order to find communication methods that may help you. Memorizing these 7 skills could be a great thing to do in any case, even if you are already an experienced mother or father. Perhaps you are a parent who feels that things are going pretty well, but just have some questions. Or, maybe you’re really struggling with challenging kids, and just want the stress to stop. If you feel you already know what is best for your kids, these skills can optimize what you’re already doing. No matter what stage you’re in or type of parent you are, using these instructions will help make life with your kids much easier and more satisfying.

Luckily, the basics of parenting success are the same for raising all kinds of children— even those with behavior or learning problems. These instructions cover all ages and stages of childhood. We give parents the keys to developing good behavior, character, responsibility, motivation, emotional intelligence, healthy self-esteem and independence, as well as resilience and happiness in their children. How to manage a child’s temperament and the most common problems for which parents seek professional help are also covered. It’s all here.

We begin with the most important part of successful parenting—the part that is often skipped over in other guides—a healthy relationship between you and your children. In the first three skills, we’ll tell you how to develop it, repair it and keep it strong. You’ll also find advice to help you lessen your stress. In the next three skills, you’ll learn discipline methods that work, and how to modify your parenting style for best results. The seventh skill is the newest necessary parenting skill: monitoring and managing outside influences (from television to friends) that can mess up even the best parenting these days.

This book may look long, but you don’t even have to read the whole thing to learn what you need! If all of your children are 4 years old and up, you could just read chapters one through seven, plus chapter nine if you have teenagers. For children 3 years old and under, we suggest reading chapters one, two, three, seven and eight for now. The rest of the book is your complete reference guide to use as needed. We include a handy advice list for specific issues, such as whining and toilet training, in chapter 13. Our instructions will be easiest to learn if you take your time reading, and try a few new things before going on. You may want to skim through the bold headings before you actually read the book.

We think raising children is the most important job in the world, and we feel that parents deserve honor and praise—and help—to make it easier. Parenthood doesn’t have to be an experiment in terror! Learning these skills will make you confident that you know what it takes to happily raise good kids. But first, try setting aside the thought that parents should just naturally know what to do. That will help you be open to new advice. Learning and trying new things can make life with your kids much simpler and better. Read on for success!

(read on in the book for all the parenting instructions you need for success)