Raising a Resilient Child in a World of Adversity Effective Parenting for Every Family

Parenting doesn’t always come naturally. This book offers expert guidance for caregivers who struggle with parenting because of adversity in their own lives, or simply because they are raising kids in an increasingly stressful world.
     
As parents and caregivers we want to help our kids through everything, including difficult or disturbing experiences. But if we or our child have experienced adversity or trauma, this can be especially challenging. How do we know whether we are providing our child or teen with too much structure or not enough? How do we provide discipline that is effective but not overly harsh? How do we teach our kids to be resilient and manage their feelings when we have trouble managing our own?
 
Drawing on their extensive knowledge of ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and PACEs (protective childhood experiences), psychologists Morris and Hays-Grudo describe a balanced parenting approach to help parents manage these tricky balancing acts with confidence.
     
Each chapter describes a key stage in a child’s life, from babyhood through the teen years and highlights behaviors that are
age-typical but often challenging for parents. Real-life examples and self-help activities and quizzes bring the material to life, and a rich resources section provides additional sources of help.

Jennifer Hays-Grudo, PhD, is a regents professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Center for Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University, where she directs the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity (CIRCA), an NIH-funded center addressing the effects of early life experience on health and development. She co-chairs the Oklahoma Legislative Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care. She has published numerous scientific articles on the effects of adversity on children and families, on risk-taking in adolescents, and on the effects of nutrition and hormone therapy on quality of life and cognition in postmenopausal women. She is co-author with Amanda Sheffield Morris of Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences: A Developmental Perspective.

Amanda Sheffield Morris, PhD, is a regents professor and the George Kaiser Family Foundation Chair in Child Development and an extension specialist at Oklahoma State University in the Department of Human Development and Family Science. She is also an adjunct professor at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research. She is a co-investigator on the multi-site NIH-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study and a principal investigator on a similar study of infant development, the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study. Dr. Morris has authored numerous articles and chapters on child and adolescent development and the neuroscience of emotion regulation and parenting and is co-editor of the book, Authoritative Parenting: Synthesizing Nurturance and Discipline for Optimal Child Development, published by the American Psychological Association.

Introduction: A Tale of Two Dogs
Part 1. Science of Adversity and Resilience: The Power of Childhood Experiences
1. The Enduring Effects of Childhood: Adverse and Protective Experiences
2. How Adversity and Resilience Are Passed From Generation to Generation
Part 2. Parenting to Build Resilience: The Importance of Relationships and Resources
3. Promoting Resilience in Babies and Young Children
4. Promoting Resilience in School-Aged Children
5. Promoting Resilience Adolescent and Young Adults
Part 3. Parenting in a World of Adversity: Strategies and Practical Tips
6. Discipline Versus Punishments
7. Parenting Teens and Young Adults Today: Challenges and Opportunities
8. How Parents Can Heal From Their Own ACEs
9. Putting it All Together: Forming Resilient Families
Resources