Pre-School Parenting Secrets: Talking with the Sky Book

Foreword Professor Roberta Michnick Golinkoff Golinkoff, Professor Roberta Michnick 6

Preface: Play or Enrichment? A Perfectly Reasonable Question 9

Series Introduction The Seed in the Palm of Your Hand

i Consider the Bamboo --- a Lesson in Preparation 24

ii A Rose by Any Other Name... 24

iii Is there Life beyond the Hot-house? 25

iv The Bonsai --- Art, or Arrested Development? 26

v Why the Bamboo? 27

vi The Power of áChild's Play' 28

vii Managing Change 30

viii Expanding the áComfort Zone' 31

ix The áKey Roots' 32

Chapter One The Science: What Research Tells Us About the Needs of a Child

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A Attachment and Bonding: Planting the Seed 39

i The Power of a Hug 39

ii What Is Attachment Theory? 39

iii What Is Bonding? 40

iv How Much Bonding Is Enough? 41

v What If I Have More Than One Child? 43

vi Are All Fun Family Experiences Bonding Experiences? 44

vii Characteristics of Children and Adults with Secure Attachment 45

viii How Do Parents of Securely-Attached Children Behave? 45

ix Bonding---the Easiest Parenting Task of All! 46

x To Do (Exercises) 46

B A Hierarchy of Needs: First Things First---I Can't Be a Genius If I'm Hungry! 46

i All That a Human Being Needs Can Be Found in a Pyramid! 47

ii Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 47

iii But What Do All These Labels Mean? 48

iv Attachment, Bonding and Maslow 50

v So Many Needs! 50

vi SEEs and Maslow's Needs 51

vii To Do (Exercises) 52

Chapter Two The Physical Needs: Understanding Your Child's Basic Physical Needs --- Healthy Development Through Sensible Decision-Making

Tyler Restating the Obvious 60

A Sleep Strategies for Parents: In Defence of Sleep 61

i Sleep, Concentration and Memory Formation 61

ii Growth and Repair 62

iii Behaviours of Tired Children 62

iv Tired Children Struggle Academically 63

v Better Sleepers Are Better Readers and Learners 63

vi How Much Sleep Does My Child Need? 64

vii How Do We Develop Good Sleep Habits? 65

viii áWind-Down' Aids 66

B Healthy Nutrition: How to Encourage Your Pre-schooler to Enjoy Healthy Food 68

i Quit Clowning Around with Nutrition --- Managing Marketing and the Mass Media 68

ii So, What Are Healthy Foods? 71

iii A Word about Carbs... 72

iv What About G.I.? 73

v How to Encourage Positive Food Choices 74

vi To Do 80

C The Many Benefits of Laughter: Giggles that make the áGrey-Matter' Grow! 84

i Laughter and Learning 84

ii The Physiological Benefits of Laughter 86

iii The Health Benefits of Laughter 86

iv Incongruity and Laughter --- Humour as Training for Creative Thinking 87

v áSilliness' --- a Building Block of Social Skills, Cognition and Creativity 88

vi How to Make Your Child Laugh at Any Age 88

vii Language Games to Make Children Laugh 89

viii Practising the Gift 91

ix To Do 91

D Getting Your Child Moving: The Importance of Exercise in Early Childhood 92

i First, the Science 92

ii Guidelines 93

iii What Is Structured Play? 94

iv To Do 95

E The Importance of the áD' Factor: The áDark Side of Tanning'---the Bright Side of U-V Radiation 97

i Why Is It So? 98

ii The áD' Factor 98

iii Playing It Safe 99