Look Both Ways: 9 Evolutionary Parenting Principles

Book excerpt: In this rapidly changing world in which divorce, mental health issues, aggression, and promiscuity among children are on the rise and education, economic prosperity, and life satisfaction are declining, families are in search of a new parenting script. In Look Both Ways, professional counselor and parenting strategist Tricia Ferrara shows parents how to stop using old scripts that define their roles as spectators and learn to actively participate by relying on core principles that can dramatically improve relationships, overcome behavioral challenges, and help a family reach its full potential. Ferrara relies on her clinical experience as well as evidence in neurological, social, developmental, and behavioral disciplines to lay out a step-by-step process that teaches parents how to build strong relationships with their children, lead by example, and encourage development. With a down-to-earth style, she addresses real-life issues that parents face with their children on a daily basis, including the lure of social networking, fierce competition among peers, and sexual temptation. Look Both Ways provides concrete advice that helps parents remove the blindfolds, cultivate their children's abilities to develop and adapt at any age or stage, and discover that growth can be an invigorating two-way street.