Filled with relevant, expert, and practical child-rearing information, this invaluable guide also helps parents understand and utilize parenting resources ranging from scientific research to Internet sites to the popular press. Taking up where the 2004 edition of The Educated Parent left off, Child Rearing in the 21st Century is a must-have guide to parenting best practices. Author Joseph D. Sclafani, a psychologist and family therapist, highlights the different approaches to child rearing and provides practical advice about which approaches work best and why. Topics covered range from the role of the parent as supporter/protector to the efficacy of daycare and the ways parents can prepare for and assist in a child's education. The book also looks at parenting after a divorce, at the importance of fathers in children's lives, and at such 21st-century issues as cyberbullying and the anxiety-producing effects of societal pressures. One of the unique aspects of the book is that it presents and explains expert knowledge from journals and research studies that are often inaccessible to the everyday reader. Centers of parenting advice such as the Internet and parenting magazines are evaluated as well.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Assumptions about Good Parenting Child Development Themes Organization of The Educated Parent 2 ONE: Parenting 101 Foundational Parenting Skills "Good Enough" Parenting Parenting after Divorce/Separation Helping Children to Adjust and Cope after Divorce Visitation Do's and Don'ts A List of Visitation Don'ts Coping Strategies for Children Supporting and Protecting Children How Parents and Children Influence Each Other TWO: Parenting Skills for the 21st Century Helicopter Parents and Tiger Moms Wellness—Raising a Healthy Child in a Healthy Home Prevention Practices Parent Advocacy for Health and Wellness Parents' Roles in Developing Spirituality and the Search for Meaning in Life Other Issues for 21st-Century Parents THREE: Temperament, Attachment, and Parenting Style: The Developmental Triad Why Temperament Is Important and How It Affects Your Ability to Parent What Attachment Is and Why It Is Important Attachment as a Predictor of How a Child Will Turn Out Parenting Style and Its Effects on Your Child's Behavior Parenting Style and Teens FOUR: The Importance of an Organized Family Life and Discipline Marital Quality and Child Outcome Issues Related to Discipline Styles Corporal Punishment—To Spank or Not to Spank FIVE: Parents as Teachers Setting up Your Child to Succeed in School Parental Behavior and Educational Achievement Related Issues for Your Child's Education Homeschooling Parenting Advocacy in Support of Education SIX: Childhood Stress, Anxiety, and Behavioral Disorders Impacts of Stress on Your Child's Development Impacts of Anxiety on Your Child's Development Other Mental Health Issues and Your Child's Development SEVEN: Societal and Cultural Stressors in Your Child's Life School as a Source of Stress Cultural and Media-Based Stressors: Television Cultural and Media-Based Stressors: The Internet Cultural and Media-Based Stressors: Video Games Do Video Games or Internet Time Change Brain Organization? What Parents Can Do to Protect their Children from Outside Stressors EIGHT: Why Fathers Matter Fatherhood—Definitions, Roles, and History Some Contemporary Perspectives on Fathering Research on the Effects of Father Influence Postdivorce Fathering Issues NINE: How Daycare Affects Your Child Daycare Done Right The Debate about Daycare Attachment Supports at Home Health Issues A Brief Review of Research on Daycare Effects Some Conclusions Afterword: Some Conclusions and Final Thoughts on Parenting Today Chapter References, Sources, and Resources Index