By Laura Kastner, Ph.D.
The A-Z Toolbox contains 26 parenting tools that contribute to successful parenting. By “successful” I mean parenting strengths or behaviors that are associated with building social, academic, emotional and moral competence in children and adolescents. Each of the tools has research (which is cited with links) which supports its inclusion in the toolbox. These tools can be interesting articles for your reading or they can inspire an action plan to invigorate your parenting with new vigor and skill. My goal is to show the importance of these family strengths in optimal family functioning and inspire parents to hone their skills where need be.
Most of the tools are mentioned in one form or another in our book Getting to Calm. However, this toolbox will be applicable to all ages of children (not just tweens and teens), and it can be a super-easy way to review your parenting strengths. Because the transcripts in Getting to Calm show parents how to interact with their children successfully, it should be considered the comprehensive training program for the toolbox list.
Just like any toolbox, the parenting tools can sit there in the toolbox list without their functions discovered, understood, or utilized. My goal in upcoming articles is to show the importance of these family strengths in successful family functioning and inspire parents to refine their skills where need be.
Before I get started on the tools, I want to offer a few explainers for the user’s manual. Continue reading