Homework: A Parent's Guide to Helping Out Without Freaking Out - Softcover

Neil McNerney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 098399000X ISBN 13: 9780983990000

Publisher: Integrated Pr, 2011

Synopsis

Neil McNerney, a licensed counselor and parenting expert, will show you ways to help your child do better in school without arguments, yelling, or guilt. In his 25 years working with school-age children and their parents, Neil McNerney has developed a simple and powerful approach that will increase achievement and decrease aggravation!

HOMEWORK: A Parent's Guide to Helping Out Without Freaking Out! will guide you through a simple process to find a way to help your child based on which faulty coping pattern your child is using. Most homework books are focused on study techniques. Homework focuses on how parents can be powerful leaders in their kid's education. It answers the most common questions parents ask:

1. When do I reward and when do I punish?
2. How do I give advice about studying without getting backtalk?
3. How much should I review homework?
4. How do I help my stressed out child who takes school too seriously?
5. What do I say when my child says "I don't care" about school?
6. How do I help my disorganized child without feeling like I am his secretary?

Praise for Homework

"Whether you have an anxious, disorganized or defiant child when it comes to doing schoolwork, McNerney's C.A.L.M. method allows you to tailor your intervention to the specific style of your child. A great way to avoid nightly homework wars!"
   - Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, author of Surviving Your Adolescents

"Neil is a gifted communicator, able to introduce ideas in a way that make perfect sense out of complicated dynamics, and leaves parents feeling renewed and ready for action. Neil is a professional worth watching and learning from. I know I have."
   - Hal Runkel, NY Times bestselling author of ScreamFree Parenting

"I've never read a book like this one I will keep it on my professional shelf & continue to recommend to parents and professionals. Thanks for the gem of a book, Neil McNerney! No wonder its flying off shelves!!"  - Laura Chernow, Book Reviewer for The Purcellville Gazette

About this title

About the Author

Neil McNerney is a licensed professional counselor since 1994. Neil spent seven years as a school counselor, dealing with most of the issues in this book. He is on the teaching faculty of the Virginia Tech Graduate School of Marriage and Family Therapy, where he teaches clinical techniques for working with children in a family context. 

Neil speaks and trains nationally and provides workshops and keynotes at state and national professional conferences. He has helped develop a parent training program that is being used by hundreds of professionals worldwide. The main focus of  Neil's work is increasing motivation in children and increasing the leadership skills of parents.

And, most importantly, Neil has two children, who constantly challenge his assumptions about parenting, especially when it comes to schoolwork. He is regularly amazed at the things they can accomplish on their own, and is regularly challenged to use the right approach based on what is going on with them at the time.

From the Back Cover

Homework Time Doesn't Have to be so Hard!

We all love our kids, and we want the best for them. But sometimes it's hard to figure out how to help them do their best. Neil McNerney, a licensed counselor and parenting expert, will guide you through a simple process to find that 'sweet spot' of parenting
- Identify the ways your child deals with homework
- Confidently use the three most powerful leadership techniques that will help your child achieve success
- Get your specific parenting questions answered in the FAQ section

Neil's book will give you a specific plan with concrete suggestions you can use right away to increase achievement and decrease aggravation.

Praise for "Homework

"Neil is a gifted communicator, able to introduce ideas in a way that make perfect sense out of complicated dynamics, and leaves parents feeling renewed and ready for action. Neil is a professional worth watching and learning from. I know I have."
- - Hal Runkel, NY Times bestselling author of ScreamFree Parenting and ScreamFree Marriage

"Whether you have an anxious, disorganized or defiant child when it comes to doing schoolwork, McNerney's C.A.L.M. method allows you to tailor your intervention to the specific style of your child. A great way to avoid nightly homework wars!"
- - Thomas W. Phelan, PhD, author of 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 & Surviving Your Adolescents

"Neil McNerney gives practical, plans for homework dilemmas I deal with as a teacher. By the end of Chapter 1, parents can put this easy to read and funny book into practice to help their kids. This is an excellent book!"
- - Virginia Walker, Teacher, Blue Ridge Middle School, Purcellville, VA

"Amazing book stuffed with ideas I can use right away!"
- - Robin Mong, Mother and Director of Loudoun Education Foundation, Dominion High School, Sterling, VA

From the Inside Flap

Why Staying Calm Does Wonders

One of the best ways to help your child be successful in school is to be under control. You notice that I didn't use the term "in control," but "under control." The difference is huge. By under control, I mean that you are in control of yourself, instead of someone else being in control. When you are under control, you are saying that, regardless of what grades come home, regardless of how much homework gets done; you will decide how you feel and how you react. The benefits of staying calm, regardless of what happens, are many.

Why do we want our kids to do well in school? Seems a pretty obvious question. We want our kids to do well so that they will be successful. When we can stay calm, we are increasing the odds of success. The calmer I am, the more likely my kids' energies will be focused on their own actions instead of mine. If I am not calm, then their thoughts and emotions are focused on me, instead. So, instead of thinking about doing well in school for their own success, they think they should do well in school to change our emotions. When we are over-anxious or losing our temper, we have lost a chance to help with self- motivation.

When we send the message to our kids that it's their job to calm us down, it sometimes makes the immediate situation better, but doesn't make any long-term change. Sometimes, though, it will have the exact opposite effect and make things worse. There are some kids who deal with the "calm me down" message very differently. Instead of rising to the occasion and working to calm their parents, they will do the exact opposite, guaranteeing that the parents will get even more upset and angry.

Edition details

• Publisher: Integrated Pr
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 098399000X
• ISBN 13: 9780983990000
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 163