CHECK IT OUT

From potty training to peer pressure issues, parents face a minefield

of challenges in the stretch between a child’s infancy and adolescence.

To navigate through them successfully, Newport libraries offer dozens of

new resources.

Among the latest additions is “The Parenting Survival Kit,” an A-to-Z

guide to help parents positively handle such issues as attachment,

bonding, discipline, sibling rivalry and childhood fears. In addition to

advice on common quandaries, this child-rearing manual includes a

directory of organizations and online information that can provide

assistance with specific issues.

From the foremost medical authority on children’s health, the American

Academy of Pediatrics, comes the latest theories for getting newborns,

toddlers and school-age children to sleep in “Guide to Your Child’s

Sleep.” There’s reassuring advice for preventing sudden infant death

syndrome, getting babies to sleep through the night and solving

sleep-wake problems in this accessible guide for bleary-eyed parents.

When children are awake, whining can be among their most irritating

behaviors. To help parents effectively respond to it, “Whining” features

a host of techniques aimed at nipping outbursts before they escalate into

tantrums.

Other ways to deal with uncontrolled eruptions and motivate kids to

behave are in “How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too,” a common-sense

guide for effective role modeling.

Its promise is ambitious, but in many ways “The Secret of Parenting”

fulfills it with a technique that can be applied to tantrums, back talk

and other negative behavior. Directed at those responsible for toddlers

to preteens, this guide to raising kids without threats or punishment is

filled with anecdotes that will ring true for many moms and dads.

Aimed at an equally broad parenting spectrum is “The 7 Worst Things

Parents Do,” an examination of self-defeating behaviors parents often

make. Written with the premise that small changes can yield big results,

this roundup of easily redirected missteps provides insightful tips

designed to improve the lives of both adults and children.

Parenting teens poses trials unique to that period when children

experience profound changes in the way they look, feel and act -- the

focus of “A Parent’s Guide to the Teen Years.” In this treatise about

nurturing the physical, social and emotional development of 11- through

14-year-olds, you’ll find timely guidance for relating to teens and

helping them grow into responsible adults.

While parents inevitably shape their offspring, children also

transform the identities of significant adults in their lives. Read about

the impact of raising kids on every parent’s lifestyle, relationships and

self-image in “The 8 Seasons of Parenthood,” a thoughtful exploration of

parenthood cycles that examines how each season of child rearing shapes

individuals and families.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams in collaboration with

Debbie Walker. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers

by accessing the catalog at o7 www.newportbeachlibrary.orgf7 .