David Elkind - Parenting on the Go: Birth to Six, A to Z

Praise for The Power of Play

In an era of consumerism and parental pressure, Dr. Elkind defends that most wonderful aspect of childhoodour childrens chance to dream and to make this a wonderful world for them and for us. T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.

Elkind argues that... when we take away time from playful learning, we deprive kids of important opportunities for emotional, intellectual, and moral growth. Teacher Magazine

Every parent should read this book... [Elkind] makes a coherent, readable, and altogether fascinating case. John Rosemond

Dr. Elkind suggests fun ways to get kids thinking (that dont involve homework and books). Womans Day

[A] fascinating look at the importance of letting kids be kids... With clarity and insight, Elkind calls for society to bring back long recesses, encourage imagination, and let children develop their minds at a natural pace. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Drawing on diverse sources... [ The Power of Play ] is full of helpful discussions and examples. Choice

The Power of Play should be considered one of the primers for good parenting. Chicago Parent

Should be required reading for every parent... Elkinds thorough research and carefully reasoned presentation serve to emphasize the importance and good sense of what he has to say. Provo Daily Herald

One last shot at convincing American society about the dangers of the disappearing childhood. Tampa Tribune

Elkind, one of todays psychologists, shows that it is through play that learning happens. He provides guidance for wise use of kids screen time, developmental understanding, and most interestingly, the use of good humor in parenting. Nashville Parent

A timely book on the importance of unstructured play in the academic preparation and development of children... Highly recommended. Library Journal (starred review)

Reassuring... Dr. Elkind talks about how to reintroduce creative, imaginative play into your childs life. Scholastic Parent and Child

Elkind offers simple, practical guidance for parents and educators who would combine love, work, and play to foster health, intelligence, and creativity in children. American School Board Journal

Praise for The Hurried Child

A landmark book. Chicago Sun-Times

David Elkind [is] one of psychologys leading lights. Washington Post

[O]ffers excellent perspectives on children, parents, and culture... this powerful book is essential reading. Library Journal

[Elkinds] main theme remains relevant more than 25 years after its initial publishing. The Jewish Week

Also by David Elkind

The Power of Play

The Hurried Child

Reinventing Childhood

All Grown Up and No Place to Go

Ties That Stress

Parenting Your Teenager

A Sympathetic Understanding of the Child

Understanding Your Child: Birth to Sixteen

Images of the Young Child

Grandparenting: Understanding Todays Children

Miseducation

Children and Adolescents

The Childs Reality: Three Developmental Themes

The Child and Society

Child Development and Education

Giants in the Nursery (in press)

Copyright 2014 by David Elkind

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210.

Designed by Trish Wilkinson

Set in 11.5 point Minion Pro by the Perseus Books Group

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Elkind, David, 1931

Parenting on the go : birth to six, A to Z / David Elkind.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7382-1751-2 (e-book) 1. Child rearingHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. ParentingHandbooks, manuals, etc. 3. InfantsDevelopment. 4. Child development. I. Title.

HQ769.E5534 2014

305.231dc232014008660

First Da Capo Press edition 2014

Published by Da Capo Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

www.dacapopress.com

Note: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. This book is intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about health issues. In no way is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own physician. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between you and your doctor. We strongly recommend you follow his or her a bility in connection with the use of this book. The names and identifying details of people associated with events described in this book have been changed. Any similarity to actual persons is coincidental.

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my three sons, Paul, Rob, and Rick,
who gave me my first lessons in Parenting on the Go.

Contents

I believe that in contemporary American society we have a time famine. This is particularly true for single- or two-parent working families with young children. Finding hours to shop, housekeep, and do home maintenance, prepare meals, do laundry (never mind have a personal life)and still have time for eating, reading, and playing with ones children becomes a monster task of scheduling.

The time famine is aided and abetted by a generation gap produced by the phenomenal rate of technological change. Even a century ago, parents could pretty much rear their children as they had been reared. That is no longer true. Many contemporary parents did not themselves grow up with the internet, texting, touch-screen technology and tablets.

To address these issues, several years ago Mark Hamilton and Michele Hamilton created Just Ask Baby , a series of short online videos in which an infant, Joey, talks to his parents about the social, emotional, and intellectual development problems he is experiencing in the first year of life. He suggests to the two actor parents, who are also in the video, how best to handle them.

I wrote the scripts for the series, and also two 500-word weekly blogs which subscribers to Just Ask Baby got as a bonus. I did this for two years. The blogs covered a wide range of issues pertinent to the rearing of young children. For a variety of reasons, Just Ask Baby did not catch on and was discontinued.

It seemed to me, however, that another way to approach the time famine for the parents of young children was to put the blogs together as a handy reference guide that they could turn to for quick answers to immediately pressing problems.

Todays parents dont often have time to consult parenting books, but they could use a short, to-the-point discussion of the challenges they meet daily.

It was with this goal in mind that I put together Parenting on the Go: Ages Birth to Six, A to Z. I feel comfortable in offering this guide because I have worked as a child clinical psychologist in departments of psychiatry, in the public schools, as head of a child study center; as a consultant to child guidance clinics; and as a psychologist in juvenile courts. I have also had a small private practice. At the same time, I have conducted research and taught as a professor of child development at several major universities (thirty years at Tufts) and as an author/lecturer, speaking to parents and teachers in the United States and abroad.