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We humans are pretty clever. We’ve mastered fire, invented the wheel, calculated the age of the universe, sent people to the Moon, built machines that think and cracked the genome. So you’d think that with all our smarts, somebody would’ve come up with a surefire formula for raising kids. Maybe that’s because every child, like every parent, is an individual, and no two parent-child relationships are ever the same. So you can give up any notions of being a perfect parent. But you can learn to keep the big mistakes to a minimum and make the parenting enterprise easier and more rewarding for your children and you — which is where this book comes in. Whether your child is a newborn, a teen or somewhere in between, Parenting For Dummies gives you the scoop on parenting basics. From dealing with a crying baby and potty training, to building self-esteem and talking with them about sex, it offers a gold mine of up-to-date advice and guidance on how to: *Learn to communicate with your kids *Develop a good relationship with your kids *Keep your kids safe and healthy *Help your kids grow up to be good people *Keep your cool and control their behavior *Discipline constructively and with a minimum of stress *Build self-esteem in your children *Avoid committing the parenting sins your parents taught you Experts Sandy and Dan Gookin — she’s the parenting expert for Parents Magazine and Working Mother Magazine and he’s a father of four — avoid the psychological hype and medical terminology, and give you the straight poop on all aspects of child-rearing, including: *Speaking and listening to kids *The importance of being consistent *Keeping a sense of humor *Dealing with babies *Childhood growth and development *Health and nutrition *Kids’ changing physical needs *Developing a good person Written by parents for parents, Parenting For Dummies gives you the know-how and skills you need to be the parent of healthy, happy kids.