The Self-Aware Parent

Book excerpt: A healthy relationship based on mutual trust is every parent's wish. The bond between infant and parent is a natural phenomenon, but as children reach their preteens and form their own personalities, fireworks between the child and parent can ensue. Drawing on 20 years of clinical experience and new theories on attachment, family therapist and consultant to Parents magazine Dr. Fran Walfish argues that parents need to distinguish their own personality types in order to make more informed decisions about how they interact and raise their own children. This step-by-step guide shows parents: * how to recognize the strength and weaknesses of your parenting style and how it affects your child; * the ways your style might clash with your child's nature, and how to negotiate a common ground; * the vital importance of establishing trust with a preteen to better prepare for turbulent teen years. Written with warmth, authority, and wit, Dr. Walfish holds a gentle mirror up to parents and helps them understand themselves in order to create a closer relationship with their child.