Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose: Caring for Your Kids & Yourself

Promoting the findings of the Search Institute (a Minneapolis-based nonprofit research organization), Roehlkepartain (Fidget Busters) devotes the first part of her text to the institute's ""40 Developmental Assets"" for emotionally healthy children. These she divides into eight broad categories (support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity). Roehlkepartain points out how parents can guide their preschooler to develop positively, using boxed ""Bonus Ideas"" (such as lighting a candle at the dinner table in honor of the child when he does something kind) as concrete examples of ways parents can influence their child's life. While the assets provide structure, the text becomes more engaging when Roehlkepartain delves into ways parents can nurture themselves during the ""turbulent twos, frustrating fours, and finicky fives."" In Part Two, she covers topics parents of preschoolers will find familiar, such as sleep deprivation, job demands and financial concerns: noting that parenting a preschooler can be a particularly demanding job, the author seeks ways to help parents unwind and deal with stress. Roehlkepartain writes with a friendly tone, offering a useful resource for parents of the preschool set.