Living with the Active Alert Child

Detailed Contents

PART I: Loving Your Active Alert Child

1. Do You Live with an Active Alert Child?

Could Your Child Be an Active Alert?

2. The Eleven Traits of an Active Alert Child

Trait 1: Active
Trait 2: Alert
Trait 3: Bright
Trait 4: Controlling
Trait 5: Fearful
Trait 6: Intense
Trait 7: Attention-Hungry
Trait 8: Trouble Getting Along with Others
Trait 9: Fluctuating Self-Esteem
Trait 10: Performers
Trait 11: Empathic Ability

PART II: Parenting Your Active Alert Child

3. The Three-Part Process of Understanding Your Child

Understanding Your Child
Assessing Your Parenting Skills
Affirming Your Child

4. Parenting Strategies That Fit Your Child's Needs—and Yours

5. The Puzzle Known as the Family

Exploring Your Family
The Power of Family Systems
Parenting in Different Family Systems
How Active Alerts Fit into the Family

6. Your Active Alert Child and the Family

The Closed Family: Children Are to Be Seen and Not Heard
The Random Family: Children Are to Be Seen and Heard Depending on Their Needs
The Open Family: Children and Parents Are to Be Seen and Heard Equally
The Synchronous Family: Children and Parents Are to Be Seen and Not Heard
The Dysfunctional Family System
How the Pieces Fit—Individual Roles within Families
How We Fit in and Change as Families and Individuals
Can Families Change?
Active Alerts: The Movers
Understanding Your Family Type

PART III: Day by Day with Your Active Alert Child

7. Special Times! Defusing Land Mines with Love

Holidays, Birthdays, and Other Forms of Chaos
Baby-Sitters and Care Providers
Television and Video Game Addictions
Siblings
“One, Two, Three—You're Out!” Getting Past Stuck Records and Potholes
Fostering the Self-Esteem Process
Handling “What ifs”
Teaching Your Own Active Alert
A Question of Attitudes: The Feeling Chart
Yes, Master
Time Now for Time-Out!
Playing Uproar

8. How Your Child Learns

The Kinesthetic Learner
The Auditory Learner
The Visual Learner
What Are the Other Factors in Learning?
Active Alert Learners
Meeting the Needs of Active Alerts in School
Who Should Teach Your Child?
What Does Your Child's Learning Style Mean at Home?

9. Further Insights into Living with the Active Alert Child

A section for each trait (see Chapter 2 above)
Temperament vs. Clinical Issues
Chemical Dependency and Mental Illness

PART IV: Beyond Childhood

10. Living with the Active Alert Adolscent

Growth Comes in Spurts: When Bodies Grow, Sometimes Brains Doze
Cruelty, Bullies, and Popularity
Talking With Your Active Alert Teen
Summary of Recommendations
Solutions for Power Struggles
Attitudes and Responsibilities
Marks of Difference
“You Don’t Understand Me”

11. Active Alerts as Adults

Who Are Active Alert Adults?
The Importance of Caring
The Active Alert Traits in Adults
Family Memories

12. Active Alert Adults as Parents

When Active Alerts Parent Active Alerts

13. Questions, Please

14. Conclusion

Resources and Readings

Index