“When a stranger calls you mom”: A child development and relationship perspective on why abused and neglected children think, feel, and act the way they do

This book gave me a new and truly different parenting model, as coach instead of loving parent.  It took some of my hurt away of loving w/o reciprocation from my sons and coaching made sense to the athlete in me.  Who hasn’t heard of that great coach who “saved” a kid?  After explaining child development, traumatized children and how they think, feel and act the way they do, Leslie, a Ph.D. and mother of four adopted children, explains parenting strategies that include relationship coaching.  By switching to a structure and rehabilitation approach from love and affection, the boys and I felt less strain to pretend that we were a loving family and were able to do the work that would help us move toward a feeling of well-being and safety.  If you’re a seasoned frontal lobe/neglect/attachment parent already, just skip to the chapter, Parenting (page 142 – 187) for the coach model.  (Found in some libraries.)