The Everyday Parenting Toolkit: The Kazdin Method for Easy, Step-by-step, Lasting Change for You and Your Child

Some of us are just naturals when it comes to parenting. But the rest of us wish that parenting came with operating instructions.

Now it does. The result of thirty years of scientific research, Alan Kazdin’s The Everyday Parenting Toolkit will guide you through every developmental stage—from toddler to teenager—and make you a more relaxed, confident, and competent parent. The rigorously tested strategies in this book will not only help change your child’s behavior, they will also decrease the stress in family relations, increase your joy in parenting, and help build a more nurturing home life that can directly improve children's mental and physical health and school success.

You won’t find abstract philosophy here. You’ll see every point, every strategy, illustrated with real-life examples. From toilet training to teaching a child to accept “no” without a tantrum all the way up to struggles over cellphones and curfew; from swiftly and gently correcting problem behaviors to fostering positive character qualities like respect for others, honesty, good friendships, or altruism, The Everyday Parenting Toolkit will surprise you time and again with counterintuitive advice that works.

For years parents have been coming to Dr. Kazdin’s Parenting Center at Yale University for help with the challenges, large and small, of child rearing. With the publication of this book, every reader can gain access to that advice and to parenting know-how that transforms families.

Alan E. Kazdin, Ph.D., is the John M. Musser Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry at Yale University and Director of the Yale Parenting Center. His work on parenting and childrearing has been featured on NPR, PBS, the BBC, and he has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, 20/20, and Dr. Phil. He frequently lectures to parents, educators, and business groups interested in learning the latest research and techniques of childrearing.

Carlo Rotella writes regularly for the New York Times Magazine, and he is a columnist for the Boston Globe. His work has also appeared in the New Yorker,　Harper's, Slate, and The Best American Essays, and on WGBH. He is director of American Studies and professor of English at Boston College.