Looking for an engaging way to nurture parent and child relationships? This highly practical, activity-based guide shows home visitors what to do and how to do it—and is virtually a training program in itself! Developed out of three different training curricula that have been extensively field-tested and used in workshops across the United States and Canada, this guide gives home visitors creative and proven tools to help parents strengthen their relationships with their children.

Because every child and family is different, the approaches outlined are flexible, adaptable, culturally sensitive, and appropriate for all families. Home visitors will find step-by-step guidance on

• establishing a framework for successful relationships with families, from initial contact with new families to maintaining positive bonds.
  
  
• engaging parents with interactive parent–child focused, parent focused, or child focused exercises in social competence, empathy and caring, problem solving, and coping and resilience. There are approximately 45 activities and corresponding photcopiable handouts for both parents and children, with notes on common challenges and issues, and suggestions for linguistic or literacy adaptations
  
  
• ensuring a positive parenting approach through "Comfort, Play, and Teach™" activities. These fun, parent–child activities, divided into 10 age ranges for children from 1 month to five years, focus on emotional, social, intellectual, and gross motor and fine motor development.
  
  
• evaluating their relationships with families through reflective self-assessment
  

Parents can be overwhelmed by personal challenges and stressors that compromise their capacity to do the best for their children. Let this be the home visitor's guide to harnessing parents' inherent strengths, building their parenting competencies, and empowering them with useful strategies.

About the Authors
About Invest in Kids
Acknowledgments

Section I: Overview

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Checklists and Protocols

Section II: Activities to Strengthen Parenting Capacity

Chapter 3. Empathy and Caring

Activity 1: Observing and Celebrating Children's Developmental Tasks
Activity 2: Turning the Negative into the Positive
Activity 3: Helping the Young Child Cope with Emotions
Activity 4: Understanding Temperament
Activity5: Speaking from the Child's Perspective
Activity 6: Comforting Your Baby
Activity 7: The Wheel of Feelings
Activity 8: Learning to Communicate Feelings
Activity 9: Family Shield
Activity 10: Exploring Personal Values
Activity 11: Exploring Family Values
Activity 12: Paper Dolls
Activity 13: Child Affirmations

Chapter 4. Coping and Resilience

Activity 14: Coping Tips for Parents
Activity 15: Pushing the Buttons
Activity 16: Making a Meaningful Connection
Activity 17: Understanding Children's Motivation and Behaviors
Activity 18: Balancing the Positive and Negative
Activity 19: Happy Childhood Memories
Activity 20: Community Mapping
Activity 21: Connecting to My Community

Chapter 5. Problem Solving

Activity 22: How Do You Know It Worked?
Activity 23: Behavior Chains
Activity 24: Carrying the Load
Activity 25: The Problem-Solving Method
Activity 26: One Small Change
Activity 27: The Juggling Act
Activity 28: Who Is in My Life?
Activity 29: Health and Unhealthy Relationships
Activity 30: Managing Life's Activities
Activity 31: Asset Mapping

Ch. 6. Social Competence

Activity 32: Catching the Good Things
Activity 33: Self-Confidence Game
Activity 34: Letter to Mom and Dad
Activity 35: Getting to Know Myself Better
Activity 36: Mirror Exercise
Activity 37: My Talents
Activity 38: Compliments
Activity 39: Building Relationships
Activity 40: Puppy Dog or Pit Bull
Activity 41: What's My Style of Relating?
Activity 42: Effective Listening
Activity 43: Closed, Open, and Loaded Questions
Activity 44: In the Driver's Seat
Activity 45: Becoming an Assertive Communicator

Section III: Activities to Strengthen Parent–Child Relationships by Developmental Stage

1–3 Months
4–6 Months
7–9 Months
10–12 Months
13–18 Months
19–24 Months
25–30 Months
31–36 Months
3–4 Years
4–5 Years

Bibliography