Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life

Though this book takes children’s needs as its focus, it is really focused on providing guidance—and even a degree of consolation—to adults as they navigate the often tricky parent-child relationship. What child psychologist Shanker refers to as “self-reg” can easily be summarized as mindfulness and as the practice of reframing stressful situations. Yet heightened awareness, simple in theory, is especially difficult to practice in a world that promotes mindlessness to an epidemic extent. These are elusive concepts to grasp, but Shanker gives readers clear explanations of even the more complex neurological information, such as the role of the limbic system, as well as ample diagrams. And the discussion does not stop at the early childhood stage, moving ultimately into adolescence. This book might be less appropriate for more extreme situations—as some of Shanker’s many case studies indicate, significant stress can warrant professional intervention. But if the stressed populations most in need of this book’s lessons can find the time to read it, they will appreciate its potential to bring the minds of both parent and child to a state of heightened attentiveness with minimal anxiety. Agent: Jill Kneerim, Kneerim & Williams. (June)