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Ready or Not, Here Life Comes (Hardcover)
by
Mel Levine
Every parent wants to know, "What will he be like when he's in his twenties?"
After decades of observing children grow into young adults, Dr. Mel Levine, nationally known
paediatrician and author, addresses the question of why some youngsters make a successful transition into adulthood while others do not.
In recent years, says Dr. Levine, we have experienced an epidemic of career unreadiness as too many young people begin what he calls "the
start-up years" unprepared for the challenge of initiating a productive life. Parents and schools often raise children in a highly structured world of overscheduled activities, meeting kids' demands for immediate gratification but leaving them unable to cope on their own. Instead of making a smooth transition into adulthood, many youngsters find themselves trapped in their teenage years,
travelling down the wrong career road, unable to function in the world of work.
These young people have failed, says Dr. Levine, to properly assess their strengths and weaknesses and have never learned the basics of choosing and advancing through the stages of a career.
Dr. Levine urges that schools focus less on college prep (which, he points out, generally means "college admissions prep") and instead teach "life prep," equipping adolescents with what they will need to succeed as adults. He identifies these skills as falling within four growth processes, "the four I's": inner direction, or self-awareness; interpretation, or understanding the outside world; instrumentation, or the acquisition of mental tools; and interaction, or the ability to relate to other people effectively.
It is these abilities that ensure a successful transition into the
start-up years of early adulthood. Parents, schools, and adolescents themselves can all work together to improve work-life readiness, and Dr. Levine shows how. He even offers advice for young adults who find themselves unable to navigate the world of careers.
Insightful, wise, and compassionate, Ready or Not, Here Life Comes is a powerful commentary on our times and a book that can help adolescents and startup adults -- with an assist from parents and educators -- to spring from the starting gate of adulthood.
Amazon $17.16
 10
Secrets Every Father Should Know (Hardcover)
by
Meg Meeker
The
most
important
person in a
young girl’s
life? Her
father.
That’s
right—and
teen health
expert Dr.
Meg Meeker
has the data
and clinical
experience
to prove it.
More on Parenting ...
Super Snacks:
Seasonal Sugarless Snacks (Paperback)
by Jean Warren
Reviewed by
Karen
Cole ...
Frustrated with our family's culinary rut, I went
to the library and came home with a haul of children's cookbooks. I
told my kids to pick out something new and make it for us.
My older son (age 11) skipped all the colorful
kids' books in favor of this low-budget gem. I think it's actually
written for day care providers, who have many of the same culinary
requirements as juvenile chefs do. The recipes are simple, fast, and
use ingredients kids recognize and like. Many recipes don't even
require any actual cooking (with heat) or cutting with sharp knives,
so younger kids can do them on their own.
My son started with a peach yogurt smoothy, which
we all liked (except, in defiance of the sugar-free title, we added
a little honey to the recipe from the book. Hey, that's Big
Learning, right? Learning to make changes in a recipe to achieve
desired results). Then he made cheese popcorn.
I think this is a great sourcebook for getting
kids started cooking on their own, and you can't beat the price.
It's out of print, but available online for a couple dollars.
Amazon from $1.86
Find in a library
 Brilliant
Babies, Powerful Adults: Awaken the Genius Within
(Paperback)
by John Mike
Brilliant Babies, Powerful Adults
is an ispirational guide to understanding the
powerful influence that early stimulation has on
your developing child. How by using the techniques
described in this book you can maximize your childs
intellectual potential starting during pregnancy.
Brilliant Babies, Powerful Adults then describes the
incredible development of the conscious and
subconscious mind and the emotional developement of
your child. The book discusses parenting techniques
to create in your child a high self worth, healthy
self esteem and the ability to create loving
compassionate relationships by understanding your
own (i.e. the parents) developmental process.
Amazon
Find in a library
Find in an Australian library
 How
to Raise a Family & Career Under One Roof: A Parent's Guide to Home
Business (Paperback)
by Lisa M. Roberts
Well formatted and easily read, this
is a must for any parent considering a home business. The author has
drawn parallels between nurturing a business with that of raising a
child. She recommends color-coding various areas of your business
for task management, and offers practical business and home
organizing advice. The references to her personal journal were a
nice touch, allowing the reader to identify with the writer. This
one was hard to put down!
This guide to entrepreneurship is
full of practical advice, heartwarming essays, and bountiful
resources. The author provides guidelines and frameworks to help
parents methodically and sensibly transition their current careers
to home-based entrepreneurial reality. She shows readers how to
plan, initiate and manage a successful home business and household
while reminding us to stop and drink in the richness of life at home
with the children. An affirming and well-researched manual for
anyone considering a home-based career.
Amazon
Find in a Library
Find in an Australian library
 ScreamFree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool (Screamfree Living)
(Paperback)by Hal Edward Runkel
The clear, direct, and humorous writing style allows parents with hectic lives to quickly read the book, absorb its concepts, and put them to use. Each chapter ends with reflection questions to reinforce the themes from the chapter. The book continues its effectiveness whether or not the reader answers the questions. However, thinking about the questions might shed light on you, your kids, and your relationships.
The concept of parents not letting their emotions guide their response to a child's troubles is not new, but Runkel shares stories, experiences, and explanations on how to do it. Sure, junior spilling juice all over the carpet can make any parent mad, but dealing with the situation while maintaining control has better results than a scream fest, spanking, or arguing.
Though the book focuses on parenting, its concepts largely address ourselves as individuals. For we have to take care of us first before others. Instead of permissive or dictatorship parenting, Runkel encourages judo parenting, which is "the art of going with another's momentum."
More information
 Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered
Marriage by Stephanie Coontz
Politics,
economics, greed, sex, cars—without them, matrimony wouldn’t have caused
the historical revolution ensuing today, concludes social historian
Stephanie Coontz, in Marriage, a History. Modern marriage is in crisis;
but don’t pine for a return to "the good old days," when men earned
money and women kept house. Don’t even assume the crisis is all bad.
Coontz details how society’s attempts to toughen this institution, have
actually made it more fragile. Her rich talent for analyzing events,
statistics, and theories from a myriad of sources—and enabling the
reader to put them all in perspective—make this provocative history book
an essential resource.--Liane Thomas
Based on extensive research (hers
and others'), Coontz's fascinating study places current concepts of
marriage in broad historical context, revealing that there is much more
to "I do" than meets the eye. In ancient Rome, no distinction was made
between cohabitation and marriage; during the Middle Ages, marriage was
regarded less as a bond of love than as a " 'career' decision"; in the
Victorian era, the increasingly important idea of true love "undermined
the gender hierarchy of the home" (in the past, men—rulers of the
household—were encouraged to punish insufficiently obedient wives).
Coontz explains marriage as a way of ensuring a domestic labor force, as
a political tool and as a flexible reflection of changing social
standards and desires. She presents her arguments clearly, offering an
excellent balance between the scholarly and the readable in this timely,
important book.
Agent, Susan Rabiner. (May)
She writes in a very readable
style. You will find yourself quickly having read large passages of this
book effortlessly. The book is informative, eye opening, and definitely
well worth the read. I recommend this book if you want to see what the
institution of marriage has been through out time and different cultures
Stephanie Manley
More information
All New Square Foot Gardening (Paperback)
by Mel Bartholomew
...anyone, anywhere can enjoy a Square Foot garden. Children, adults with limited mobility, even complete novices can achieve spectacular results.
I've rarely seen a more reader-friendly book! It comes complete with layout pages, very consise planting guides, even planting time tables for your area and the amount of time you can store your seeds! If you have never gardened before or started a garden that eventually left you frustrated, then this is the book for you! I just think that you should check your area for agricultural grade vermiculite before you buy the book. But once that little snafu is over, you are going to be amazed at how brilliant and easy this book makes successful gardening. I highly recommend this method for busy people and parents like myself. It is wonderfully easy to maintain, makes loads of produce, and looks very attractive. Two green thumbs way, way up.
More reviews from Amazon where the book is selling for $13.59 
Character Is Destiny : Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember
(Hardcover)
"McCain's latest volume uses biography as an illustration of virtue, but this time the senator broadens his palette significantly, telling 34 stories of heroes whose lives embody qualities ranging from honesty and loyalty to curiosity and enthusiasm. At the root of them all, he says, is a willingness to stay true to one's conscience against all challenges."
"Although he is reaching out to a younger readership, McCain's plain but sincere language does not condescend to his audience."
More information
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