All kids occasionally space out, get sidetracked, run out of time, or explode in frustration–but some do it much more often than others. If you have a “smart but scattered” child, take heart. This encouraging guide is grounded in research on the crucial brain-based skills that 4- to 13-year-olds need to get organized, stay focused, and control their impulses and emotions. The expert authors guide you to identify your child’s executive strengths and weaknesses, boost skills that are lacking, fix everyday routines that don’t work, and reduce everyone’s stress. Including new research, new and updated vignettes, and “A Good Place to Start” suggestions for each skill, the revised and updated second edition features a new chapter on technology and a greatly expanded school chapter. Helpful practical tools can be downloaded and printed. See also the authors’ Smart but Scattered Teens, Smart but Scattered–and Stalled (with a focus on emerging adults), and The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success (with a focus on adults).

There’s nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your “smart but scattered” child might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there’s a lot you can do to help. The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial “executive skills”–the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to boost specific skills, and problem-solve daily routines. Small changes can add up to big improvements–this empowering book shows how.