Your child brings into the world a unique set of characteristics

Activity level, disposition, potential for intellectual and physical

development, creativity, and, style of neurobiochemical wiring all

contribute to the mix. In addition, an intense interaction between

your child and you, and between your child and other caregivers,

takes place from the very beginning. Each interaction leaves its

mark on your child.

If you were to grow a plant from seed, with the hope that it

would mature into a healthy, flowering shrub, you would learn what

the plant needs. You would care for it tenderly, water it, feed it, and

shelter it from abusive elements. You would prune and guide the

plant according to its particular needs. You would not yank its

branches or shake it roughly. You would neither neglect it nor over-

feed it. After receiving your special care early in its life, the

seedling would eventually grow into a strong, mature tree, able to

withstand stress and strain.

Your child needs the same kind of care and guidance, especially

during the preschool years, and suffers from the lack of either.

This book will provide you with the information you need to

build a successful partnership between you and your child. During

the first six years of a child s life, each child will pass through five

developmental stages--trust, identity, competence, power, and self-

control. Your understanding of these stages will give you the tools

to help your child become an emotionally healthy, happy, responsi-

ble person. Each stage augments, in a logical, understandable

sequence, the previous stage. If your child moves through the expe-

riences and demands of these early years successfully, he or she will

have a solid emotional foundation upon which to structure all later

life. A child who doesn t build an early foundation will struggle