Levine - Raising a self-reliant child: a back-to-basics parenting plan from birth to age 6

Dr. Alanna Levines book on helping parents back off from the Black Hawk approach to parenting is not only timely but also crucial for our childrens emotional health and well-being. Reports just released from UCLA show the incoming crop of freshmen to have record high levels of stress and the all-time lowest mental health in twenty-five years. Our ultimate parenting goal is to raise independent, well-adjusted kids who can someday live without us. Dr. Levines book will give parents the knowledge and tools to do so.

MICHELE BORBA, educational psychologist, author of
The Big Book of Parenting Solutions, TODAY show contributor

Alanna Levine has done a great service to parents everywhere with this authoritative guide to raising children who can grow up to be self-sufficient adults. Far from the extremes of the Tiger Mother or the helicopter parent is the empowering parentone who understands that fostering a can-do spirit in young children rather than doing everything for them will result in happier children and happier families. Parenting according to the principles in Raising a Self-Reliant Child will give childhood back to children, and frazzled parents will find they have more time and a better relationship with their children.

DR. TANYA REMER ALMANN, pediatrician, author of Mommy Calls, American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson

Dr. Alanna finds a way to make the everyday challenges of raising young children seem logical and manageable. Drawing on her experience as a doctor and a mother, she provides relatable and real information and guidance. This is a great resource for parents and grandparents!

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON, womens health expert,
author of The Body Scoop for Girls

Dr. Levines book, Raising a Self-Reliant Child, is exactly what todays parents need. Instead of raising your child to be your best friend, following Dr. Alannas approach will help you take a fresh look at how to handle the most common challenges of early childhood. From bedtime battles and basic discipline to troubles with toilet training, this book will ultimately help you raise a more caring, independent, and self-confident child.

DR. LAURA A. JANA, pediatrician, author of
Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality,
American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson

Copyright 2013 by Dr. Alanna Levine

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Levine, Alanna, 1973
Raising a self-reliant child : a back-to-basics parenting plan from birth to age 6 / Alanna Levine.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Parenting. 2. Child rearing. 3. Self-reliance in children. I. Title.
HQ755.8.L4887 2013
649.1dc23

2012045631

eISBN: 978-1-60774-351-4

Design by Chloe Rawlins
Front cover photograph by Image Source

v3.1

As a first-time author, I have truly engaged the help of a village of people to produce this finished product. It all began with Marta Tracy. This book would not be on the shelves today without her belief in me and her tireless effort and introductions to all of the right people. Among many other important meetings, she is directly responsible for introducing me to my literary agent, Frederica Friedman.

Fredi understood my concept immediately, and from that very first encounter, she became a true champion for the book. She was involved in every step of the process from the proposal right through the final version of the manuscript.

I thank my editor, Sara Golski from Ten Speed Press, for her gentle manner and patience as I embarked on this new journey. And a big thank you to Julie Bennett, also at Ten Speed Press, for understanding the need for this book to be written.

Many thanks to Elisa Petrini who has guided me through the author process and has also helped turn my ideas into grammatically correct sentences.

I have been fortunate enough to have a team of experts to advise me. I am forever grateful to my media agent, Mark Turner of Abrams Artists, who is available 24-7 for anything I need. My attorney, Tom Distler, is always behind me every step of the way.

To the incredible doctors and staff at Orangetown Pediatric Associates, I express my sincere thanks for always being there to support me. I think of all of you not just as coworkers but as good friends.

My pediatric colleagues across the country have also been integral to the writing process. Dr. Tanya Remer Altmann has been a great friend and mentor to me. She read drafts on numerous occasions and offered her insight on how to turn a book concept into a reality. Dr. Laura Jana has gone over the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb, despite her out-of-control crazy schedule. Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson always put the world in perspective for me, which is something a full-time working mother who wants to write a book in her spare time desperately needs. Dr. Ari Brown and Dr. Jennifer Shu are always on call to answer any of my pediatric and author questions. I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such a smart, energetic, and talented group of pediatricians and friends.

To my patients and their parents, who have served as the true backbone to this book, I offer a very special thank you. Its your stories and experiences that shaped the ideas for the book and many of the parenting strategies I use with my own children. I thank you very much for sharing them with me.

To my parents, parents-in-law, sisters, and beloved grandparents, I hope you know how supported I have always felt by you. There is no way I would have gone to medical school, completed a residency, had the courage to stand in front of a TV camera, and now be publishing a book if I hadnt had your relentless support. You celebrate each and every achievement right there along side of me, and I am eternally thankful and grateful for having the best family possible.

Jamie, my dear husband, has stuck right beside me for the past twenty-two years. He moved to Boston for graduate school, to Israel for medical school, and then still stood by me through three years of residency. And just when we thought life would become less complicated, I decided to broaden the reach of my pediatric practice and write medical articles, appear on TV, and now write a book! I thank you for being my rock, my adoring husband, and the best father to our children ever.

And to my children, Sophie and Charlie, I am so proud of you each and every day. You are the two most competent children I know, and your dedication and determination to achieve anything you desire is incredible to witness. I thank you for all that you have taught me about parenting. I love you so much!

I see them everywhere: the exhausted, hollow-eyed zombie parents of children who never sleep; the sherpa parents, groaning under backpacks and diaper bags with kids hanging on each arm; the guard dog parents, catching children in midtumble; the food fighters, coaxing kids to eat anything that isnt white; the backseat parents, who finish or perfect whatever a child starts; the taxi parents, huddled in cars, poised to whisk children home from countless enrichment programs; the parents-at-arms, waging war over any real or potential slight. The list goes on and on.