When to begin: When your child starts to wave bye-bye.

How to do it: Show your baby the sign and point to the picture. Always say the word as you make the sign. Great for meal time. 
Price: 6.26 USD

A much-needed book for parents about themselves.

In the tradition of Dr. Benjamin Spock, who in 1946 revolutionized parenting with the famous opening words of his classic child-rearing guide, "You know more than you think you know," child and family therapist David Anderegg reminds contemporary parents that "parenting is not rocket science. It's not even Chem 101." So why do those of us with children worry so much?

Whether they're thinking about school violence or getting a child into the right college, American moms and dads are a pretty worried crowd. Even though most American families are safer and healthier today than at any other time in our history, studies show that parental worrying has, in recent years, reached an all-time high. In Worried All the Time, Dr. Anderegg draws on social science research and his more than twenty years' experience as a therapist treating both parents and their children to clarify facts and fantasies about kids' lives today and the key issues that preoccupy parents. In the process, he offers a comforting and useful message: Parents are suffering needlessly -- and there are things they can do to take the edge off and focus on what their children really need.

In Worried All the Time, Dr. Anderegg identifies some of the causes of worry in contemporary American families, including fewer children, exaggerated fear of competition, and overblown media reports of children at risk. Anderegg calls this the "tabloidization of children" and critiques the fashion for media portrayals of "children in crisis." One at a time, he takes on the hot-button issues of our times:

• the use of day care and nannies
• overexposure to media
• school violence
• overscheduling
• experimentation with drugs

and looks a little closer to see the facts and the fantasies beneath the hysteria. Calling himself a "crisis agnostic," Anderegg persuasively argues that needless worry has negative consequences for families and for our culture as a whole. The cardinal rules of good parenting -- moderation, empathy, and temperamental accommodation with one's child -- are simple, he says, and are not likely to be improved upon by the latest scientific findings. Anderegg helps parents to understand the difference between wise vigilance and potentially crippling anxiety and to gain the confidence to trust their own common sense.  
Price: 18.00 USD

In his latest book, Thomas Armstrong takes a refreshing new approach to the topic: teaching kids themselves about multiple intelligences. In clear, simple language, he introduces the theory, explains the eight intelligences in school, expand their multiple intelligences at home, and draw on them to plan for the future. Resources point the way to books, software, games, and organizations that can help kids develop the eight intelligences. This timely, important book is recommended for all kids, their parents, and educators.  
Price: 11.96 USD

• A whole program of practices and easily adaptable classroom activities
• Excerpts from interviews and conversations
• Reflective and frequently asked questions
• Examples of student work
• Tutorials, exercises, and a glossary

The Educated Child defines a good education and offers parents a plan of action for ensuring that their children achieve it. Combining the goals that William Bennett enumerated as Secretary of Education, key excerpts from E. D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Sequence, and the latest research, it sets forth clear curricula and specific objectives for children from kindergarten through the eighth grade, including:

• What children should be studying and the kind of work they should be doing
• Important facts to learn and essential reading lists
• When children should master specific math skills, spelling and grammar basics, and scientific facts
• Test preparation, homework, and other areas that require parental involvement

The Educated Child also examines timely issues such as school choice, sex education, character education, and the phonics/whole language debate. Perhaps most important, it encourages parents to become advocates for their children by learning what to look for in a good school, how to talk to educators, and how, when necessary, to push for needed changes. For parents concerned about their children's current education and future lives, it is the ultimate handbook.  
Price: 12.00 USD

One in eight high school students is depressed. But depression in teenagers can be deceptive, and authorities estimate that a huge number of depressed teens are undiagnosed. Adults may mistake symptoms as "typical" teen angst, anger, or anxiety. Or the teen may mask the symptoms with high-energy activity.

For parents who suspect their teen is depressed, the system often fails the family. Insurance coverage for treatment ends too soon, there's a months-long wait to see an adolescent therapist, or long-term follow-up is insufficient.

This means parents must take charge of their child's health to reinforce, extend, and monitor treatment and its aftermath. The good news is they can do it -- because parents know their child best.

Although a medical doctor, Dr. Berlinger initially missed the signs of his own son's depression. By combining his parental love with his scientific skills, he developed a set of techniques to lead his son out of depression. Now he shares his 10 Parental Partnering Strategies to help parents rescue their teen from depression -- based on his own experiences, nearly 100 interviews with parents of depressed teens, and interviews with mental health professionals.

Increasingly, doctors are asking parents to partner with them to help children get healthy and stay healthy. Partnering has been proven effective in the treatment of other serious emotional illnesses such as anorexia nervosa.

Parents can use Dr. Berlinger's strategies to help distinguish depression from moodiness; be alert to suicide risk; monitor medication effectiveness; help the teen combat negative thinking; organize activities to offset depression; and spot signs of relapse during tense times in their child's life, including exams, relationship breakups, or starting college or a job.

Both a family survival story and a practical guide, this book affirms parents' unique power to help teens overcome depression.