“A vital, comprehensive parenting manual to guide and support parents through the complexities of 21st century parenting. The Positive Parent is an invaluable, urgently needed resource.”
—Katharine Bensinger, Parenting Education Program Supervisor, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago

“The age-old complaint is that children don't come with instruction manuals. Now they do. The Positive Parent provides a comprehensive navigation aid for anyone concerned about raising well-rounded kids. Don't guess. Don't lose sleep. Dr. Alvy provides the tools needed to identify and solve those vexing issues faced by parents everywhere.”
—Paul Petersen, Child Advocate, President and Founder of A Minor Consideration

“Dr. Alvy draws on his rich professional and personal experience in this engaging text for parenthood. He offers depth for professionals with practical advice and techniques for parents. Parent educators will welcome this book.”
—Jack C. Westman, M.D., President, Wisconsin Cares, Inc. and Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Medical School

“A wonderful resource for all parents. Dr. Alvy’s respect for parents and children is evident in every chapter, and his tips are helpful and easy to read. He does a terrific job of taking complicated research and presenting it in every day language. What a comprehensive, easy-to-follow book!”
—Jody Kussin, Academic Chair, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program, Phillips Graduate Institute, author of Catch Them Being Good: A Guide to Positive Parenting

“The Positive Parent is an outstanding resource for raising healthy, happy and successful children in 21st century America. It is practical, because it offers solutions to common parenting challenges and special parenting issues. It is informational, because it offers lists of educational resources and programs parents can trust. It is also inspirational, because the author has taken the initiative to spearhead a national campaign to motivate parents and family professionals to make a commitment to effective parenting—and invites each reader to join him in this important cause.
—Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE, parent educator, nationally-recognized parenting expert, and author of the award-winning book, The Parent’s Toolshop: The Universal Blueprint for Building a Healthy Family

“Dr. Alvy does it again. With The Positive Parent, Kerby raises our awareness of parenting in the new century and challenges us to invest in our country’s future while focusing on the most important job we will ever have? parenting all of our children. Thank you Dr. Alvy.”
—Anne S. Robertson, National Parenting Education Network (NPEN)

“A comprehensive, readable, wise, and informed book. A guide for parenting in the 21st Century.”
—Duane Champagne, Native Nations Law and Policy Center, University of California, Los Angeles

“Kerby Alvy shares his encyclopedic knowledge of parent education in an easy-reading resource. Guaranteed you'll learn ‘stuff’ that helps your work with parents—a recommended desktop reference.”
—Don Dinkmeyer, Jr., Professor of Counseling and Student Affairs, Western Kentucky University, Co-author, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) Programs

“Parenting has become increasingly difficult in a world where commercial media competes with parents to shape a child’s values and behaviors. Alvy’s book provides many practical parenting tips and ideas to help make parents more confidant and effective in shaping their children’s growth and development.”
—Karol L. Kumpfer, Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Utah

“In The Positive Parent, Dr.Alvy has given the context, the circumstances, and the course that leads to raising healthy, happy and successful children. With meticulous care, insight, and skill the ingredients that are necessary for rearing children are delineated in all of their variety. Most important, the numerous parenting effectiveness programs that Dr. Alvy presents are practical models to equip parents of all backgrounds to be successful at what is considered to be the toughest job you will ever love.”
—William S. Epps, Editor of the National Baptist Voice Magazine and Pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Los Angeles

Raising children in the 21st Century is both parenting in the worst of times and parenting in the best of times. The Positive Parent is an essential resource for navigating the challenges and opportunities that today’s families face. Dr. Alvy shows parents how to help their children reach their full potential through the power of positive parenting.

With humor and passion, Dr. Alvy provides important skills, helpful resources, and 16 highly practical guidelines to help you become a Positive Parent. Learn how to:

1. Give Children Warmth, Acceptance, and Respect
2. Enjoy Your Children’s Development and Be Alert to Special Needs
3. Use Firm and Fair Leadership
4. Avoid Corporal Punishment and Verbal Aggression
5. Start Early in Preparing Children for School
6. Create a Home Environment That Supports Education
7. Be an Active Partner with Your Child's School
8. Manage Your Child’s Obesity and Eating-Related Problems
9. Teach Children about Their Own and Other Cultures
10. Teach Children about Substance Abuse
11. Teach Children about Sexuality
12. Teach Children to Be Financially Successful and Giving
13. Manage Your Children's Exposure and Use of Media and Technology
14. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
15. Nurture the Relationship in Which You Are Raising Your Children
16. Set a Good Example of Life Long Learning

The Positive Parent includes selections from “The CICC Discovery Tool”—a series of age-specific questionnaires for tracking the development of children birth to 5 years of age.

Dr. Kerby T. Alvy, a clinical child psychologist, is executive director of the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC), Studio City, California and a founding board member of the National Effective Parenting Initiative.