The Innovative Parent: Raising Connected, Happy, Successful Kids through Art

by Erica Curtis

$20.95

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Author: Erica Curtis

Publisher: Swallow Press

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 0804012156
ISBN 13: 978-0804012157

2019 National Parenting Products Award Winner

Even the best talk-based practices in parenting can be limiting. How can art help parents temper storms of emotion, defuse sibling conflicts, get teeth brushed, and raise happy, successful kids? In The Innovative Parent, Erica Curtis and Ping Ho integrate cutting-edge research, years of clinical expertise, and their own parenting experience into a revolutionary yet practical guide to creative parenting. Plentiful illustrations and anecdotes bring concepts to life and show art in action with kids and parents.

Together, Curtis and Ho let parents in on art therapy trade secrets to help children make sense of emotions, build connections with others, develop problem-solving skills, resolve day-to-day conflicts, process and retain information, confront fears and anxiety, and much more. These are complex tasks for something as seemingly simple as making art, yet therein lies the beauty of The Innovative Parent: its down-to-earth approach is simple, doable, and fun.

Review

“With this wonderful guide you will find a fun and effective way to make your connections with your kids more fulfilling, while cultivating resilience and joy in their lives. Erica Curtis and Ping Ho provide artistic activities involving music, visual images, and dance for deep enrichment and enhancing our relationships with our children as they grow—with innovation, collaboration, and resilience front and center. Bravo, and thank you!”—Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, University of California, Los Angeles (New York Times bestselling author of The Whole-Brain Child, Parenting from the Inside Out, and Brainstorm)

“I salute your effort to bring art therapy principles to new parents. Thank you for your important work!”—Dr. Harvey Karp, MD, Happiest Baby, Inc.

“The Innovative Parent manages to avoid the pitfalls of countless parenting books and tools. It offers sensitive, creative, and mindful parenting techniques that are specific yet flexible. While no child comes with an instruction manual, this book is the closest I’ve found to one in anchoring me—both as a parent and as a creative person—in what I know.”—Einat Metzl, Department of Marital and Family Therapy, Loyola Marymount University

“Erica Curtis and Ping Ho have condensed decades of experience into a lively must-read. It provides compelling and easily digestible instruction for any parent, but also for educators, clinicians, researchers, program administrators and community health practitioners. Designed for use by both novice and expert, the book’s deep insights into the child-learner’s mind and heart provides a path forward for anyone intrigued by the ability of the arts to engage, activate, inspire and teach.”—Dr. Jeremy Nobel, Harvard University (Founder, The Foundation for Art and Healing)

“What adult wouldn’t benefit from a creative approach to connecting with and engaging kids—theirs or not? Parents and professionals will find ways to promote cooperation, further social-emotional growth, and facilitate fun in the process. Grounded in studies from a variety of disciplines, as well as arts therapy practice, this book will introduce readers to practical techniques for use with people of all ages and challenges, also making it a guide to self-parenting.”—Barry M. Cohen, board-certified art therapist and co-author of Managing Traumatic Stress Through Art

About the Author

Erica Curtis is a board-certified art therapist, licensed marriage and family therapist, and internationally cited expert on parenting, relationships, and mental health, specializing in creative and cutting-edge approaches to psychotherapy and teaching. She lives in southern California with her husband and three children.

Ping Ho is founder and director of UCLArts and Healing, which offers training and community education in the use of creative expression for self-discovery, connection, and empowerment. She has master’s degrees in counseling psychology and public health, and an extensive background in the performing arts. She and her husband have raised two children and now have two young grandchildren.

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The Innovative Parent: Raising Connected, Happy, Successful Kids through Art